Bloomberg
Pending sales of US homes declined last month for the first time since July, as high borrowing costs and prices especially hit the costliest parts of the country. Contract signings fell 5.5% to 74.2 in December, according to a National Association of Realtors® index released Thursday.
The drop was weaker than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists and was dragged most by the West and Northeast, which each saw their biggest monthly declines since 2022.
“Contract activity fell more sharply in the high-priced regions of the Northeast and West, where elevated mortgage rates have appreciably cut affordability,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in a statement. “It is unclear if heavier-than-usual winter precipitation impacted the timing of purchases.”