Home Resales Soar 12.1% in ’85

WASHINGTON — Spurred by falling mortgage interest rates, sales of existing homes jumped 12.1% last year, hitting their highest level since 1979, a real estate trade group reported today.

The National Assn. of Realtors reported that 3.22 million existing single-family homes were sold last year, the first time since 1979 that sales have gone above the 3-million mark. Prices were up 3.7% from a year ago.