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In February 2026, month-over-month pending home sales rose slightly with gains in the Midwest, South and West, but declines in the Northeast. Improved affordability seems to have led to a climb in pending contracts, but regions like the Northwest continued to be held back by the combination of higher home prices and a shortage of supply. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun warns, “Conditions could reverse if higher oil prices lead to an uptick in mortgage rates.”

Yun continued, “For first-time homebuyers, purchasing a home is not a snap decision. It takes time to build credit, save for a down payment, and fulfill existing rental lease agreements. Still, there is sizable pent-up demand that could be released into the market. Although job gains have been sluggish in recent months, there are still 6 million more jobs in the country than in the pre-COVID period.”

Read the full news release.

Next release: Pending Home Sales for March 2026 will be released on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 10 a.m. Eastern.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHS), a leading indicator of housing activity, measures housing contract activity, and is based on signed real estate contracts for existing single-family homes, condos, and co-ops. Because a home goes under contract a month or two before it is sold, the Pending Home Sales Index generally leads Existing-Home Sales by a month or two.

Pending Home Sales data are provided by NAR solely for use as a reference. No part of the data may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or redistributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without NAR's prior written consent for those who are not members of NAR.

Members of the media who need copies of previous months' pending home sales news releases can contact the NAR media communications team at 202-383-7515.

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Pending Home Sales for March 2026 will be released on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 10 a.m. Eastern.

The NAR Public Affairs Office issues a news release on or near the 20th of each month with the latest existing-home sales figures. The releases include analysis and quotes by NAR's Chief Economist Lawrence Yun regarding the sales volume, prices, inventory and interest rates.

NAR Research Data Release Dates