NEW YORK (By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney) July 25 2006 — It's official - even the nation's leading group of real estate agents now says it's a buyers' market in housing, as a soaring supply of homes for sale means nearly flat prices and longer waits for sellers.

The news came in the National Association of Realtors' report for June, which showed that home sales fell to the slowest pace since January last month while price gains were the smallest in over a decade.

The industry group said sales of existing homes fell to an annual rate of 6.62 million in June, compared with a 6.71 million pace in May. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast sales would slow to a 6.60 million rate.

June was the third straight month of slower sales, and the lowest pace of sales since the seasonally adjusted number for January. The pace of sales is now 9 percent year-ago levels, and was down in each of the four regions of the country.

The median home price, which reflects the point at which half the homes sold cost more and half cost less, edged up to $231,000 from $229,000 in May.

But that marked only a 0.9 percent increase from a year earlier, which is the smallest year-over-year gain in home prices since May 1995. As recently as October, prices had jumped a record 16.8 percent from a year earlier due to tight supplies and bidding wars among buyers.

"The change in price performance is directly tied to housing inventories - a year ago we had a lean supply of homes and a sellers' market, with monthly home sales at an all-time record high," David Lereah, chief economist for the group, said in a statement. "Sellers have recognized that they need to be more competitive in their pricing given the rise in housing inventories."

The inventory of homes for sale on the market is now at 3.7 million, up a whopping 39 percent from a year ago. That resulted in a 6.8-month supply of homes for sale at the current sales pace, up from only a 4.4-month supply in June 2005.

The Realtors statement said the market has shifted to a "buyer's market," which it said is good news for those shopping for a home even if it posed a problem for those looking to sell.

"People who were discouraged by the bidding wars that were so common over the last few years are finding more choices now," said Thomas Stevens, a Realtor from Vienna, Va., who is president of the group.