Pending Home Sales Decreased in September, NAR Report Shows 

Weakening market conditions from rising mortgage rates helped push pending home sales down 7.3% month-over-month and 11.3% year-over-year in September, according to the National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales report.

“Market conditions weakened in September due to fast-rising mortgage rates,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Although job growth and income gains can support home purchases, housing affordability is more affected by changes in mortgage rates.”

NAR said its report helps the real estate ecosystem—including agents, homebuyers, and sellers—better understand the housing market by providing data on home sales under contract.

According to NAR, month-over-month pending home sales fell in all four major U.S. regions. The West had the largest decrease, followed by the South, Midwest, and Northeast. Year-over-year pending home sales also declined in all four regions, NAR reported.

“Given that mortgage rates have already risen much more than the Federal Reserve’s short-term interest rate hikes, mortgage rates could be topping out,” Yun said. “However, increasing energy prices and the resulting inflationary pressure are highly uncertain.”

“Despite the difficulty of obtaining a mortgage, the limited number of distressed properties is ensuring steady home prices,” Yun added. “Buyers and sellers may simply be holding back until mortgage rates move favorably.”

September 2026 National Pending Home Sales

• 7.3% decrease month-over-month
• 11.3% decrease year-over-year

September 2026 Regional Pending Home Sales

Northeast

• 4.2% decrease month-over-month
• 9.4% decrease year-over-year

Midwest

• 6.5% decrease month-over-month
• 8.7% decrease year-over-year

South

• 8.2% decrease month-over-month
• 12.0% decrease year-over-year

West

• 9.2% decrease month-over-month
• 15.0% decrease year-over-year

At the local level, NAR said that pending home sales fell year-over-year even in the strongest markets. Among the 50 largest metro areas, the following 10 markets posted the smallest annual declines in pending home sales, according to data from Realtor.com Economics:

• Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee (-2.0%)
• Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut (-2.1%)
• San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California (-3.5%)
• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calfornia (-4.6%)
• Buffalo-Cheektowaga, New York (-5.6%)
• Richmond, Virginia (-5.8%)
• Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas (-5.9%)
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (-6.2%)
• Memphis, TN-MS-AR (-6.3%)
• San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas (-7.1%)

NAR said the Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed, but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

Pending contracts are good early indicators of upcoming sales closings. NAR noted, however, that the amount of time between pending contracts and completed sales is not identical for all home sales.

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