Sales of existing homes rebounded in February.

Sales were up 6% last month to an annual rate of 3.69 million units, compared to 3.48 million in January, the National Assn. of Realtors reported. The January figure had represented a 14.3% slide from the December sales pace. The average effective interest rate for loans on existing homes in February was 9.25%, compared to 9.53% in January. The February resale pace was 11.8% higher than the same month last year. All of the annual sale rate figures are adjusted for seasonal variations. Actual sales in February were 241,000 units; there were 216,000 in January.