NEW YORK (AP) — Home sales in the Northeast declined more than 13 percent in May from year-ago levels, the worst showing in the country, as the specter of job losses loomed over the region.

The median sales price in the Northeast dropped almost 13 percent to $243,600, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

Nationally, sales of existing homes tumbled 6.6 percent in May from the previous year, without adjusting for seasonal factors. The U.S. median sales price slid almost 17 percent to $173,000.

But James Diffley, group managing director of IHS Global Insight's regional services group, focused more on the 7.6 month-to-month sales gain in the Northeast.

"The numbers are giving some comfort that we're at the bottom," Diffley said. "We have a more optimistic view than just a few months ago."

In fact, all nine major Northeast cities tracked in the Associated Press-Re/Max Monthly Housing Report showed monthly gains in home sales. But compared to last May, sales were down across the board with with seven metro areas recording double-digit declines.

The report analyzed sales transactions in the metropolitan statistical areas recorded by all real estate agents, regardless of company affiliation.

Jitters are still running high in the suburbs of New York, where sales fell by 30 percent, the worst decline in the region. Excluding New York City, the median price in the area fell almost 8 percent to $388,000 as job losses on Wall Street rippled through the local economy.

Westchester County real estate broker J. Philip Faranda, who has his own firm, said it's not just the financial industry that is in distress these days. He recently worked on a short sale for a Manhattan art dealer. A short sale is when the lender agrees to accept less than the total balance due on the mortgage.

"High-end art is one of the things in this economy that the affluent cut back on," Faranda said.

On the south shore of Nassau County, N.Y., many Manhattan commuters are putting their houses up for sale because they're worried about possible layoffs and high property taxes, said Paul Confroti, an agent with Prudential Douglas Elliman. Foreclosures are also piling up on the market, depressing prices and sales.

"We're going to be way down from (June of) last year," said Paul Confroti, an agent with Prudential Douglas Elliman.

A recent report from Deutsche Bank forecasts New York metropolitan prices will tumble another 41 percent from the first quarter of this year before hitting bottom.

Marlene Rossi shaved 26 percent off her original asking price of $719,000 for her four-bedroom colonial in Congers, N.Y. She first listed the house in September 2007, thinking it would take only six months to sell. She finally accepted an offer this month for $530,000.

But the price reduction is forcing her and her husband to rethink their retirement plans. Rossi is a nanny and her husband works in a golf pro shop and umpires baseball games.

"I'm very disappointed," the 59-year-old said. "Instead of being able to buy a condominium, we will only be able to put a down payment on it and we will still have to work."

Sellers may do better in Pennsylvania. The median price in Philadelphia dropped just 4 percent in May to $215,000, while sales plunged 19 percent. In Pittsburgh prices posted a less than 2 percent decline and sales dropped 15 percent.

"Houses here never went up that much during the boom times, but now it doesn't go down as much either," said George Hackett, president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Pittsburgh.

The median price in May, according to the AP-Re/Max data, was $126,750, which is an attractive entry price for first-time homebuyers, Hackett said. Houses there are getting multiple offers and the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers has helped boost activity.

Prices in Providence, R.I., continue to get hammered the most in the region, mostly because of a large share of distressed sales. Almost half of all sales are foreclosures or short sales, said Ron Phipps of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I.

The median price plunged 24 percent to $189,000 in May. Homes below $250,000 are getting the most attention, especially from first-time homebuyers, while sales activity is "sporadic" above that, he said.

"A lot of people are stepping onto the first-time homebuying ladder," Phipps said.

Sales in Providence fell more than 5 percent in May, the smallest decline in the Northeast.