New-Home Sales Soar 4.4%

WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes, boosted by falling mortgage interest rates, rose 4.4% in January to the highest level in two years, the government reported today. The Commerce Department said new single-family homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 753,000 units in January, the best single-month showing since December, 1983. The January increase was the third in a row.