P. M. BRIEFING : April Existing Home Sales Sag

Sales of existing homes fell 2.1% in April, their third drop in four months as they continued to lose momentum due to high mortgage rates, a real estate trade group reported today.

The National Assn. of Realtors said resales of single-family homes totaled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.33 million units, down from the March rate of 3.40 million.

Existing home sales hit their 1989 peak of 3.56 million units in November and December and then fell in January, February and April. Sales were unchanged in March.

According to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Crop., rates ranged from 10.25% to 10.56% during April. They had dipped to 10.33% by today.

The median price fell in all regions. It was down 5.4% to $140,700 in the Northeast, down 4.9% to $134,900 in the West, down 2.4% to $75,300 in the Midwest and off 0.3% to $85,700 in the South.