Sales of existing homes rose unexpectedly in June, providing evidence that a feared slump in the red-hot housing sector hasn’t yet come to pass.

The National Association of Realtors said this today that existing-home sales rose 2.1% last month to a record 6.95 million-unit annual rate. That was much better than the performance expected by economists, who had forecast a slight decline in sales due to the adverse effects of rising mortgage rates. In May, sales reached a 6.81 million annual pace.

The national median house price rose to $191, 800, a new record. Inventory of existing homes dipped to a 4.1 months’ supply.

The report comes less than a week after the Commerce Department reported that U.S. housing starts fell a sharp 8.5% in June. The realtors association has said recent existing-home sales rates reflected “fence-jumping” by buyers and sellers who saw interest rates beginning to rise in April.

The association has said sales in the second half are likely to be slower but still strong. It said full-year 2004 sales are likely to set a record.

The association’s chief economist, David Lereah, said in a news release that last month’s performance is close to the peak for the housing market. “Although we’ve been expecting sales to ease, it’s clear the market has tremendous momentum,” he said. “The improving job market and higher consumer confidence are feeding into a large demographic demand for housing. It’s unlikely that we’ll top the pace in June, but home sales remain very healthy and are likely to stay quite strong, even with some easing expected in the second half of the year.”

Existing-home sales among the regions were strong. In the Northeast, sales were up 2.8%, while sales in the Midwest rose 3.5%. Home resales in the South gained 0.4%, and the West region saw sales advance 3.1%.