Sales of new homes fell in October to the lowest point in nearly 18 years while the median price of a new home dropped to the lowest level since 2004. New homes sales fell in October to a record annual rate not seen since 1991.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that sales of newly constructed homes decreased 5.3 percent last month to an annual sales pace of 433,000 homes down from September’s annual rate of 457,000. The median price of a new home sold in October fell to $218,000, down 7 percent from a year ago. It was the lowest median sales price since September 2004.

The number of new homes on the market fell in October to an estimated 381,000 from 414,000 in September. The decline in sales pushed the inventory of unsold homes up to 11.1 months, meaning it would take that long to exhaust the stock of unsold homes at the October sales pace.

The median sales price of new houses sold in October was $218,000, down from $218,400 the month before. It was the lowest level since June 2004, when the median home price was $215,700.

Nationwide, the housing slump already has cost 3 million jobs in construction and related industries, and the home builders are asking Congress to help with increased support for the industry.