Washington ? Sales of previously owned homes surged to a record monthly high in January as super-low mortgage rates induced people to make that big-ticket commitment despite worries about a possible war with Iraq.

The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that existing-home sales clocked in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.09 million. That represented a strong 3 percent increase from December.

“It’s mortgage rates,” said the association’s chief economist David Lereah. Low mortgage rates “continue to be the fuel for the housing engine,” he said.

January’s performance defied some analysts’ expectations that sales would dip to a rate of 5.80 million units.

In the Midwest, sales of existing homes fell by 7.5 percent to a rate of 1.24 million, after setting a record high sales pace in December. In Douglas County, sales of existing and new homes totaled 98 compared to 63 sales in January 2002.