The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has reported that pending home sales in October decreased 0.4% year-over-year and rose 1.9% from the previous month. The report gives information on the number of home transactions under contract to the real estate ecosystem, which includes agents, buyers, and sellers.
Note: The home sales report is still pending.
Pending home sales decreased in the West and increased in the Northeast, Midwest, and South from month to month. The Midwest and South had an increase in pending home sales year-over-year (YoY), while the Northeast and West experienced a decline.
“The Midwest shined above other regions due to better affordability, while contract signings retreated in the more expensive West region,” said Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for NAR. “Days on the market typically lengthen from November through February, providing better negotiating power to buyers during the holiday season. Job gains in September, following the data blackout, are reassuring and suggest the economy is not slipping into a recession. This may boost confidence in future homebuying.”
According to the Realtors’ Confidence Index study conducted in October, some 17% of NAR members anticipate a rise in buyer traffic over the next three months, compared to 20% in September and 19% a year earlier. In the meantime, an estimated 16% anticipate more seller traffic, compared to 19% in October 2024 and 19% last month.
“The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index showed pending sales activity increased between September and October,” said Dr. Lisa Sturtevant, Chief Economist at Bright MLS. “The uptick in new pending contracts last month likely was driven by a drop in mortgage rates and an increase in inventory, which unleashed some of the pent-up demand in the market.”
Sturtevant added: “However, despite the month-to-month increase, the NAR Pending Home Sales Index indicates that October pending sales activity was lower than it was last October, when rates were at about the same level. There is definitely regional variation in buyer activity. Year-over-year pending sales activity was higher in both the Midwest and South regions, while activity was lower in the Northeast and especially the West. More inventory in the South and relative affordability in the Midwest likely drove the stronger pending sales activity.”
October 2025 National Pending Home Sales
- 1.9% increase month over month (MoM)
- 0.4% decline YoY
October 2025 Regional Pending Home Sales
Northeast
- 2.3% increase MoM
- 1.0% decrease YoY
Midwest
- 5.3% increase MoM
- 0.9% increase YoY
South
- 1.4% increase MoM
- 2.0% increase YoY
West
- 7.0% decrease YoY
- 1.5% decrease MoM
“While lower rates have brought out more buyers this fall, there are still major constraints in the housing market, and home sales activity is likely to be slow through the end of 2025,” Sturtevant said. “Rates, which had dropped to a 13-month low, have started to rise again. A lack of October labor market data has created uncertainty about the strength of the economy. There are pockets of weakness in consumer spending heading into the holidays. The fundamentals of the U.S. housing market are still strong. But affordability challenges are going to characterize the housing market for years. Lower mortgage rates will help bring out more buyers next year, but it is going to take time before there is better affordability in the market.”
To read the full report, click here.
The post U.S. Pending Home Sales on the Uptick first appeared on The MortgagePoint.
