The Obama administration knew home sales are going to plummet when the federal tax credit for home buyers expired. But even the administration says the decline is a bit alarming. It is not enough, though, to start talking about reviving the tax credit.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, speaking last Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union”, says the drop in July’s home sales is worse than what was expected. Though the administration already predicted a dip in sales, Donovan admits, “We are concerned.” But he adds that this does not mean people should start gabbing about reviving the said federal tax credit.

The federal tax credit assured $8,000 to those who are willing to purchase a home. It helped in slowly reviving the housing market and in boosting home sales. Now, the tax credit no longer exists.

With its expiration, the federal tax credit brought with it home sales. In July, the housing market saw sales falling to levels that have not been seen in the last ten years. And because of this, people are starting to fear that housing prices might start weakening again. There’s also some buzz as to what this might mean for the economy in general.

In July, the number of sold previously-owned homes went down 27.2% from June. This brings the seasonally adjusted annual rate to its lowest at level since 1999 – 3.83 million, says the National Association of Realtors.

Donovan says that even though the revival of the federal tax credit is nowhere near the horizon, people can still hope as the administration plans on following through on two tools it announced earlier.

In the coming weeks, a refinancing effort by the Federal Housing Administration will be launched to help underwater borrowers. Unemployed borrowers will also enjoy an emergency loan program.