Washington ? Sales of existing homes and condominiums rose by 1 percent in March to the third-highest sales pace on record while the nationwide median price jumped by the largest amount in more than 14 years, a real estate trade group reported Monday.

The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.89 million units last month, up from a February sales pace of 6.82 million units.

The increase was far above the tiny 0.1 percent gain economists had been expecting, indicating that the modest increase in mortgage rates so far this year has not put a damper on home sales.

The median price for a home sold in March rose to $195,000, a gain of 11.4 percent from the sales price a year ago. That was the biggest year-over-year gain since December 1980, a period when surging inflation was pushing home prices upward.

It marked the third consecutive monthly double-digit gain in prices from a year ago, and industry experts said it indicated in part a lack of available supply to meet demand.

“We’d really like to see a bigger supply of homes so people don’t feel pressured when making purchase decisions or contract offers,” said Al Mansell, president of the Realtors group and head of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Salt Lake City.