Home sales stay hot

Market defying cooler forecast

Years of record-breaking home sales were supposed to give way this year to rising interest rates and a cooling marketplace. But the market has defied predictions and remains red hot both locally and nationally.

Sales of both new and existing homes are running contrary to analysts' darkening forecasts. The Commerce Department reported earlier this week that purchases of new single-family homes shot up 12.2 percent in March, the biggest percentage gain in more than a decade. A 2 percent decline had been predicted.

Also reported this week was that despite the National Association of Realtors' prediction that resales of existing homes would inch up only 0.1 percent in March, those sales actually increased a full 1 percent.