Contracts to buy previously owned homes in the US dropped 16.3 percent over a year earlier in March 2020, following a downwardly revised 9.3 percent gain in the previous month. It was the biggest annual decline since April 2011, amid the coronavirus crisis. Pending home sales were down in all regions: the Northeast (-11%), the Midwest (-12.4%), the South (-17.8%) and the West (-21.5%). On a monthly basis, pending home sales went down 20.8, the largest drop since May 2010, after a downwardly revised 2.3 percent rise in the previous month and compared with market expectations of a 10 percent fall. “The housing market is temporarily grappling with the coronavirus-induced shutdown, which pulled down new listings and new contracts,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “As consumers become more accustomed to social distancing protocols, and with the economy slowly and safely reopening, listings and buying activity will resume, especially given the record low mortgage rates,” Yun added.

Pending Home Sales in the United States averaged 0.78 percent from 2002 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 30.90 percent in October of 2009 and a record low of -24.30 percent in April of 2011. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Pending Home Sales - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United States Pending Home Sales - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on May of 2020.

Pending Home Sales in the United States is expected to be 1.50 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Pending Home Sales in the United States to stand at 1.20 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the United States Pending Home Sales is projected to trend around 1.70 percent in 2021, according to our econometric models.

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United States Pending Home Sales

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-16.30 9.30 30.90 -24.30 2002 - 2020 percent Monthly
Volume Index, SA


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2020-01-29 03:00 PM Dec 4.6% 7.4% 4.4%
2020-02-27 03:00 PM Jan 5.7% 4.1% 8.3% 6.9%
2020-03-30 02:00 PM Feb 9.4% 5.8% 1.7% 1.5%
2020-04-29 02:00 PM Mar -16.3% 9.3% -2.3%
2020-05-28 02:00 PM Apr -16.3% -22%
2020-06-29 02:00 PM May
2020-07-29 02:00 PM Jun 1.5%
2020-08-27 02:00 PM Jul
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
US Pending Home Sales Fall the Most in Nearly 9 Years
Contracts to buy previously owned homes in the US dropped 16.3 percent over a year earlier in March 2020, following a downwardly revised 9.3 percent gain in the previous month. It was the biggest annual decline since April 2011, amid the coronavirus crisis. Pending home sales were down in all regions: the Northeast (-11%), the Midwest (-12.4%), the South (-17.8%) and the West (-21.5%). On a monthly basis, pending home sales went down 20.8, the largest drop since May 2010, after a downwardly revised 2.3 percent rise in the previous month and compared with market expectations of a 10 percent fall. “The housing market is temporarily grappling with the coronavirus-induced shutdown, which pulled down new listings and new contracts,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “As consumers become more accustomed to social distancing protocols, and with the economy slowly and safely reopening, listings and buying activity will resume, especially given the record low mortgage rates,” Yun added.
2020-04-29
US Pending Home Sales Beat Forecasts
Contracts to buy previously owned homes in the US increased 9.4% yoy in February of 2020, following an upwardly revised 5.8% rise in January and beating market forecasts of a 1.7% increase. It is the biggest annual gain since May of 2015, as pending home sales were up in all regions: the Northeast (5.9%), the Midwest (14.9%), the South (7.1%) and the West (10.8%). On a monthly basis, pending home sales went up 2.4%, well below an upwardly revised 5.3% jump in January but beating forecasts of a 1% fall. All regions saw a rise in pending home sales. 'February’s pending sales figures show the housing market had been very healthy prior to the coronavirus-induced shutdown. Numbers in the coming weeks will show just how hard the housing market was hit, but I am optimistic that the upcoming stimulus package will lessen the economic damage and we may get a V-shaped robust recovery later in the year', said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
2020-03-30
US Pending Home Sales Beat Forecasts
Contracts to buy previously owned homes in the US increased 5.7 percent from a year earlier in January of 2020, higher than a downwardly revised 4.1 percent increase in December. Pending home sales were up in all regions: the Northeast (1.2 percent), the Midwest (6.5 percent), the South (7.1 percent) and the West (5.5 percent). On a monthly basis, pending home sales jumped 5.2 percent, rebounding from a downwardly revised 4.3 percent drop in December and beating forecasts of a 2.2 percent gain. Only the West region reported a drop in month-over-month contract activity, while the other three major regions each saw pending home sales grow. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said that January figures result from the good economic backdrop and exceptionally low mortgage rates.
2020-02-27
US Pending Home Sales Rise 4.6% YoY
Contracts to buy previously owned homes in the US increased 4.6 percent from a year earlier in December of 2019, below a 7.9 percent surge in November which was the largest annual increase since June 2015. Pending home sales were up in the Midwest (1.3 percent), South (7.4 percent) and West (7.0 percent) while those decreased slightly in the Northeast (-0.1 percent). On a monthly basis, pending home sales declined 4.9 percent, the biggest drop since 2010, while markets were expecting a 0.5 percent rise, as contracts were down in all regions: the Northwest (-4.0 percent), the Midwest (-3.6 percent) the South (-5.5 percent) and the West (-5.4 percent). Also, the inventory of homes for sale was the lowest on record. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said that mortgage rates are expected to remain under 4 percent for most of 2020 while net job creation will likely exceed two million. The economist also noted that low inventory remains a significant longer-term concern.
2020-01-29

United States Pending Home Sales
Pending Home Sales Index is based on sales of existing homes where the contract has been signed but the transaction has not been closed. The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined.