After a contract to buy is signed, a home’s sale is considered pending until it closes weeks later. Because most pending sales successfully close, they’re considered a good forward-looking indicator of future home sales numbers. In other words, next month’s existing-home sales totals should follow this month’s pending sales numbers. That’s why the National Association of Realtors tracks them each month with its Pending Home Sales Report. In November, the data shows pending sales up 3.3 percent from the month before and 2.6 percent higher than last year. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says buyers are coming back to the market. “Home buyer momentum is building,” Yun said. “The data shows the strongest performance of the year after accounting for seasonal factors, and the best performance in nearly three years, dating back to February 2023. Improving housing affordability – driven by lower mortgage rates and wage growth rising faster than home prices – is helping buyers test the market.” (source)
