WASHINGTON -- The pace of existing home sales in the United States fell in March to a 4.93 million-unit annual rate, the National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday in a report that showed the U.S. housing market continues to struggle.

Economists polled by Reuters were expecting home resales to fall to a 4.92 million-unit pace, off from the February rate of 5.03 million that was left unchanged.

The inventory of homes for sale swelled by 40,000 to 4.06 million homes or a 9.9 months' supply at the current sales pace. Meanwhile, the median national home price declined 7.7 percent from a year ago to $200,700.

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