In the latest sign of how depressed the housing market is, the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index fell 16.1 percent in July from the same month a year ago.

The biggest decline was in the West, where pending sales - homes under contract to be sold - declined by 21.8 percent from a year ago. The Midwest was down 15.8 percent, the South down 15.2 percent, and the Northeast down an even 10 percent.

The Realtors group added that existing-home sales are likely to continue to decline in coming months. It attributed the decline to the reluctance of banks to write mortgages for any but the most creditworthy borrowers.

"Our members are telling us some sales contracts aren't closing because mortgage commitments have been falling through at the last moment," said Lawrence Yun, the Realtors' senior economist.

He said the problem was most severe for people seeking so-called jumbo loans — those greater than $417,000 in the lower 48 states; 50 percent more in Alaska and Hawaii — and "subprime" borrowers who have poor or incomplete credit histories.

The normally unflaggingly upbeat Yun acknowledged that "some consumer concerns" about housing, but he added that the market has been stabilizing "somewhat" since mid-August.

Further evidence of the housing market's health with come tomorrow, when Hovnanian Enterprises, a major homebuilder based in Red Bank, New Jersey, posts its latest earnings. Analysts had forecast a loss of 99 cents a share. The stock was down 4.76 percent in midday trading on Wednesday.