Sales of existing homes fell more than expected in October, CNNMoney reported.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said today that sales of existing homes declined to an annual adjusted rate of 4.98 million units in October, down 3.1 percent from September’s rate of 5.14 million units.

“Many potential home buyers appear to have withdrawn from the market due to the stock-market collapse and deteriorating economic conditions,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

Economists were expecting home sales to decline by 2.5 percent to an annual rate of 5.05 million during the month of October.

The national median existing-home price experienced a record year-over-year drop, the Associated Press reported. Last month, the national median-existing home price was $183,000, down 11.3 percent from a year ago when the median was $206,700. In September, the median existing-home price was $191,400.

“The private market is still very weak indeed, and the next few months represent a severe test in the wake of the plunge in stocks and consumer confidence,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at High Frequency Economics.