Existing home sales fall 3 percent in March

A real estate group says sales of previously occupied homes sank by an unexpectedly large amount from February to March, dashing hopes of a spring housing recovery.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that home sales fell 3 percent to an annual rate of 4.57 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.71 million units in February. Sales had been expected to fall to an annual pace of 4.7 million units, according to Thomson Reuters.

The median sales price plunged to $175,200, down 12.4 percent from $200,100 a year earlier.

The Ohio Association of Realtors said Thursday that Ohio sales of existing and new homes jumped 24 percent in March, compared to February. The state's average March sale price was $113,000, down 15.8 percent from a year ago.

Source: finance.yahoo.com