Pending Home Sales Rose for the Second Consecutive Month in January After Steady Decreases in 2022
Pending home sales are on the rise nationwide despite elevated mortgage rates and historically high home prices at the start of the spring buying season
March 1, 2023
Image: Gorodenkoff / stock.adobe.com
Pending home sales rose 8.1% in January but were down 24.1% from a year ago as the housing market continued to slow from a mid-pandemic buying frenzy, the National Association of Realtors reports. All four regions reported double-digit annual declines, led by a 29.3% drop in the West followed by the 24.7% drop in contract signings in the South, a reduction of 21.1% in the Midwest, and a decline of 19.8% in the Northeast.
January’s contract signings bring the pending index below the 100-level mark for the tenth consecutive month.
The 100 level is based on a 2001 benchmark and is consistent with existing-home sales above the 5 million mark.
