Pending Home Sales Fall 4.6% in October

Pending home sales declined for the fifth consecutive month in October, sinking 4.6% to a level of 77.1 on the National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index.

Compared with October 2021, pending home sales were down 37.0%.

“October was a difficult month for home buyers as they faced 20-year-high mortgage rates,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “The West region, in particular, suffered from the combination of high interest rates and expensive home prices. Only the Midwest squeaked out a gain.”

As the Midwest increased 3.3%, contract signings in the Northeast, South and West declined 4.3%, 6.4% and 11.3%, respectively.

The full NAR report can be found here.