News In Brief

Single-family home sales dip but auto sales post 20% jump

Resales of single-family homes dropped 1.8 percent in August, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Sales have fallen 12 percent since they hit their peak in April with an annual sales rate of 3.07 million units. Housing industry officials blame rising interest rates for the declines.

Domestic car sales for mid-September jumped 20.3 percent above sales for the comparable period last year, automakers said Tuesday. The six automakers sold 223,075 cars in the Sept. 11-20 period, compared with 164,792 cars in mid-September 1983.