Economists' Outlook

Housing stats and analysis from NAR's research experts.

Pending Home Sales Fall 3.8% in December 2021

NAR released a summary of pending home sales data showing that December's pending home sales pace declined 3.8% from the previous month and fell 6.9% from a year ago.

Bar graph: Pending Home Sales Index, December 2020 to December 2021

Pending sales represent homes that have a signed contract to purchase on them but have yet to close. They tend to lead existing-home sales data by 1 to 2 months.

All of the four regions showed declines from a year ago. The West had the largest dip of 16.2% followed by Northeast with a drop in contract signings of 10.5%. The South fell 3.9% followed by the Midwest with the smallest decline of 0.6%.

Bar graph: December U.S. and Regional Pending Sales, December 2021 and December 2020

From last month, all four regions showed reductions in contract signings. The West region had the largest dip of 10% followed by the Midwest with a decrease of 3.7%. The South fell 1.8% followed by the West with the smallest decline of 1.2%.

The U.S. pending home sales index level for the month was 117.7.

December's contract signings bring the pending index above the 100-level mark for the 19-consecutive month.

Line graph: Pending Home Sales Index, January 2019 to December 2021

The 100 level is based on a 2001 benchmark and is consistent with existing-home sales above the 5 million mark.

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