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New-home sales rose 1.5 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted 411,000. The level was 18.5 percent higher than a year ago. Sales of previously owned homes slipped in March compared with February. But they are 10.3 percent higher than a year earlier. Gains in home sales are helping to lift housing prices and encouraging builders to ramp up activity. U.S. homebuilders started work on more than 1 million homes in March at a seasonally adjusted annual rate. That's the first time it has crossed that threshold in nearly five years. Still, a limited supply of homes for sale could slow the housing recovery's momentum. And many would-be buyers are unable to take advantage of low mortgage rates because banks have imposed tighter credit conditions and are requiring larger down payments.
[Associated
Press;
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