Economists' Outlook

Housing stats and analysis from NAR's research experts.

September 2022 Pending Home Sales Decline as Rates Continue to Increase

NAR released a summary of pending home sales data showing that September's pending home sales pace weakened 10.2% last month and fell 31.0% from a year ago.

Bar graph: Pending Home Sales Index, September 2021 through September 2022

Pending sales represent homes with a signed contract to purchase but have yet to close. They tend to lead existing-home sales data by one to two months.

All four regions showed double-digit declines from a year ago. The West had the most significant dip of 38.7%, followed by the Northeast with a drop in contract signings of 30.1%. The South fell 30.0%, followed by the Midwest, with the smallest decline of 26.7%.

Bar graph: U.S. and Regional Pending Sales, September 2022 and 2021

From last month, all four regions showed reductions in contract signings. The Northeast had the largest dip of 16.2%, followed by the West, with a decrease of 11.7%. The Midwest dropped 8.8%, followed by the South, which had the smallest decline of 8.1%.

The U.S. pending home sales index level for September was 79.5. August pending sales figures were revised to 88.5.

September's contract signings bring the pending index below the 100-level mark for the sixth consecutive month.

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

Line graph: U.S. and Regional Pending Home Sales Index, January 2019 to September 2022

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