Existing home sales fall most in over a year

Existing home sales fell in March by the most in over a year as mortgage rates lurched upward amid higher inflation readings.

Existing home sales in March fell 4.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.19 million, the National Association of Realtors reported on Thursday, as higher mortgage rates priced out many would-be buyers and led many homeowners to avoid selling and having to reenter the home loan market.

The rate of home sales was down 3.7% from the year before.

Total housing inventory at the end of March was 1.11 million units, up 4.7% from February and 14.4% from a...