Falling Mortgage Rates Help Bolster Existing Home Sales

Falling mortgage rates helped slow the recent decline in existing home sales to 1.2% in May, 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 3.29 million, down from 3.33 million in April. The April sales were down 2.1% from the previous month.

Existing home sales hit their 1989 peak of 3.56 million units in November and December and then fell in January, February and April as mortgage rates posted double-digit figures. Sales were unchanged in March.

The national commitment rate for 30-year, conventional fixed-rate mortgages fell from 10.67% at the beginning of May to 10.33% at the end of the month.