Boosted by sales of foreclosed homes and incentives for first-time buyers, sales of pre-owned homes rose 2.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million in April, a real estate trade group reported Wednesday. Salesof existing homes have been roughly unchanged for six months. Sales are rising in areas with the greatest price declines, the same cities that were at the center of the earlier housing bubble. Sales are down 3.5% in the past year and are down 35% from the peak nearly four years ago. April sales levels were close to expectations.
