P.M. BRIEFING : Home Sales Fall for Fourth Month
<i> From Times wire services</i>
WASHINGTON —
Nationwide sales of existing homes fell by 1.2% in April, the fourth consecutive monthly decline, as rising mortgage rates continued to take their toll on the housing industry, a real estate trade group said today.
The National Assn. of Realtors said existing single-family homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.36 million units last month, the slowest annual rate in 14 months.
The April decline followed sales decreases of 2.3% in March, 2% in February and 9.4% in January.
The weakness in sales this year has been blamed on rising home mortgage rates, reflecting efforts by the Federal Reserve to fight inflationary pressures by tightening the supply of credit. (California home sales off 14%, Part IV, Page 1.)
