US pending home sales fell 0.8% month over month in January 2026, extending a revised 7.4% decline in December and missing expectations for a 1.3% increase. The second consecutive monthly drop highlights ongoing pressure in the US housing market, despite lower mortgage rates. Regionally, sales fell in the Northeast (-5.7%) and South (-4.5%), while the Midwest (5.0%) and West (4.3%) saw gains. On a year-over-year basis, pending home sales were down 0.4%. “Improving affordability conditions have yet to induce more buying activity,” said Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors. “With mortgage rates nearing 6%, an additional 5.5 million households that could not qualify for a mortgage one year ago would qualify at today’s lower rates.” Yun also warned that without an increase in housing supply, new buyers entering the market could push prices even higher, intensifying affordability pressures and highlighting the urgent need for more home construction. source: National Association of Realtors

Pending Home Sales MoM in the United States decreased by 0.80 percent in January from -7.40 percent in December of 2025. Pending Home Sales MoM in the United States averaged -0.01 percent from 2001 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 40.50 percent in May of 2020 and a record low of -30.30 percent in May of 2010. This page includes a chart with historical data for the United States Pending Home Sales MoM. United States Pending Home Sales MoM - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on March of 2026.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-01-21 03:00 PM
Pending Home Sales MoM
Dec -9.3% 3.3% -0.3% 1.4%
2026-02-19 03:00 PM
Pending Home Sales MoM
Jan -0.8% -7.4% 1.3% 6.5%
2026-03-17 02:00 PM
Pending Home Sales MoM
Feb -0.8% 0.2%


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Existing Home Sales 4090.00 4020.00 Thousand Feb 2026
Existing Home Sales MoM 1.70 -5.90 percent Feb 2026
Pending Home Sales YoY -0.40 -3.00 percent Jan 2026
Pending Home Sales MoM -0.80 -7.40 percent Jan 2026
Existing Home Sales Prices 398000.00 395000.00 USD Feb 2026
Total Housing Inventory 1290.00 1260.00 Thousands Feb 2026


United States Pending Home Sales MoM
The Pending Home Sales Index, a leading indicator of housing activity, measures housing contract activity, and is based on signed real estate contracts for existing single-family homes, condos and co-ops. When a seller accepts a sales contract on a property, it is recorded into a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as a "pending home sale." The majority of pending home sales become home sale transactions, typically one to two months later. The National Association of Realtors collects pending home sales data from MLSs and large brokers. Altogether, data from over 100 MLSs & 60 large brokers is received providing a large sample size covering 50% of the existing home sales sample. This is equal to 20 percent of all transactions.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-0.80 -7.40 40.50 -30.30 2001 - 2026 percent Monthly
SA

News Stream
US Pending Home Sales Slip for Second Straight Month
US pending home sales fell 0.8% month over month in January 2026, extending a revised 7.4% decline in December and missing expectations for a 1.3% increase. The second consecutive monthly drop highlights ongoing pressure in the US housing market, despite lower mortgage rates. Regionally, sales fell in the Northeast (-5.7%) and South (-4.5%), while the Midwest (5.0%) and West (4.3%) saw gains. On a year-over-year basis, pending home sales were down 0.4%. “Improving affordability conditions have yet to induce more buying activity,” said Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors. “With mortgage rates nearing 6%, an additional 5.5 million households that could not qualify for a mortgage one year ago would qualify at today’s lower rates.” Yun also warned that without an increase in housing supply, new buyers entering the market could push prices even higher, intensifying affordability pressures and highlighting the urgent need for more home construction.
2026-02-19
US Pending Home Sales Plunge in December
US pending home sales fell sharply by 9.3% month over month in December 2025, the biggest drop since April 2020, reversing a 3.3% increase in November and far exceeding market expectations for a modest 0.3% decline. The decline ended a four-month streak of gains and marked the steepest drop since April 2020, when the pandemic first hit demand, underscoring that the US housing market remains under pressure. Declines were recorded across all four regions, led by the Midwest (-14.9%) and the West (-13.3%), followed by the Northeast (-11.0%) and the South (-4.0%). On a year-over-year basis, pending home sales were down 3.0%. Commenting on the data, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that although home closings rose in December, new listings did not keep up, pushing inventory lower. With fewer homes available, buyers were less willing to commit, likely contributing to the drop in pending home sales.
2026-01-21
US Pending Home Rise More than Expected
US pending home sales rose by 3.3% from the previous month in November of 2025, picking up from the upwardly revised 2.4% increase from October and ahead of expectations of a 1% gain, to reflect a fourth consecutive increase in pending home sales. Growth was consistent in all areas of the country, including the West (9.2%), the South (2.4%), the Northeast (1.8%), and the Midwest (1.3%). "Homebuyer momentum is building. The data shows the strongest performance of the year after accounting for seasonal factors, and the best performance in nearly three years, dating back to February 2023," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Improving housing affordability–driven by lower mortgage rates and wage growth rising faster than home prices–is helping buyers test the market. More inventory choices compared to last year are also attracting more buyers to the market."
2025-12-29