REAL ESTATE

Existing Home Sales Jump in December: Low mortgage rates and a brightening economy enticed would-be home buyers into the market in droves in December, boosting nationwide sales of existing homes to the highest level in more than a decade, the National Assn. of Realtors said. Sales of previously owned homes climbed 5% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million units, up from a revised 3.83 million rate in November, the real estate trade group said in its monthly survey. It was the highest sales level since May, 1979, when it stood at 4.09 million units.