Home Sales Surge 5.1% During May

WASHINGTON — Sales in May for previously owned homes reached their highest pace this year, apparently because people became anxious to buy before mortgage rates rose further, the National Assn. of Realtors said Friday.

The group estimated resales in May at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.74 million homes, up 5.1% from April’s pace. A seasonally adjusted annual rate tells what a year’s worth of sales would be if every month did as well as May and seasonal factors were ignored.