Sales of Existing Homes Jump 2.5% in March

Sales of existing homes rose 2.5% in March, the second consecutive monthly increase in response to falling mortgage interest rates, a real estate trade group said today.

The National Assn. of Realtors said existing single-family homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.33 million units last month. Rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages, which had risen above 11.5% before the October stock market crash, edged below 10% in February and March. They have been rising in April and were 10.3% last week.