Existing home sales hit 18-month high

Washington

SALES of previously owned homes climbed in March to the highest level since September 2013 as job growth and cheap borrowing costs helped sustain the progress in residential real estate.

Closings, which usually take place a month or two after a contract is signed, increased 6.1 per cent to a 5.19 million annualised rate last month, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed on Wednesday in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected sales would increase to a 5.03 million rate. Prices rose by the most since February 2014.