Pending home sales in April rose by 1.4% month over month and increased 3.2% year over year, according to the National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales report.
NAR said the report provides the real estate ecosystem, including agents, homebuyers and sellers, with data on the level of home sales under contract.
“Buyers are coming out with cautious optimism despite increasing economic uncertainty and a slight rise in mortgage rates,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Demand will easily be even higher once mortgage rates retreat to the levels they were at earlier this year.”
“Historically low foreclosure sales imply minimal price discounts, with a majority of markets selling at a higher price from a year ago,” Yun said. “Unless supply meaningfully increases, home price growth could outpace wage growth and further erode the homeownership rate. All efforts need to be focused on boosting housing supply.”
Month-over-month pending home sales rose in the Northeast, Midwest and West, and fell in the South, the report noted. Year-over-year pending home sales rose in the Midwest, South and West, and declined in the Northeast.
First American Senior Economist Sam Williamson said the positive bump signals stabilization, but is short of the break-out many hoped for heading into the year.
Market is Stabilizing
“Pending home sales rose 1.4 percent in April and 3.2% from a year ago, the strongest annual improvement since last August,” Williamson said.
“The increase in pending home sales suggests the U.S. housing market is stabilizing after a slow start to the year. Even so, pending sales are only 1.6% above their 2025 average, suggesting the spring market is improving gradually, but not accelerating,” Williamson said.
“Regionally, three of the four major regions posted monthly gains in April, led by a 6.6 percent increase in the Northeast, while the South declined modestly,” Williamson noted. “The stronger rebound in the Northeast is consistent with some delayed activity from weather-related disruptions earlier in the year showing up in spring contract signings. The Midwest also posted a solid gain, while the West was essentially flat, reinforcing that affordability and local market conditions continue to shape buyer activity across regions.”
Williams said the data suggests modest improvement.
“The latest data suggest the early spring market is shaping up to be another year of modest improvement, rather than the stronger breakout many had hoped for entering the year, when lower mortgage rates and rising household incomes were boosting consumer house-buying power,” Williamson noted. “Since then, mortgage rates have climbed back above 6.3 percent, their highest level since September 2025, paring back some of those affordability gains, while broader economic uncertainty and higher energy prices weigh on consumer confidence and buyer demand.”
Williamson noted the underlying buyer conditions.
“Still, underlying buyer conditions remain better than a year ago: inventory has improved, home-price growth has cooled, and rising incomes have helped put buyers in a somewhat stronger purchasing position relative to last year. Those conditions could support firmer sales activity in the second half of 2026 if mortgage rates stabilize and broader economic uncertainty eases,” Williamson said.
