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Pending home sales and existing-home sales both declined on a monthly and annual basis in January, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
NAR reported that pending sales fell 0.8% from the previous month and 0.4% year over year. The association also recently reported an 8.4% decline in existing-home sales compared with December 2025 and a 4.4% drop from a year earlier.
Month over month, pending home sales rose in the Midwest and West, while declining in the Northeast and South. Year over year, pending home sales increased in the South and West and decreased in the Northeast and Midwest.
“Improving affordability conditions have yet to induce more buying activity,” said NAR chief economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “With mortgage rates nearing 6%, an additional 5.5 million households that could not qualify for a mortgage one year ago would qualify at today’s lower rates. Most newly qualifying households do not act immediately, but based on past experience, about 10% could enter the market—potentially adding roughly 550,000 new homebuyers this year compared with last year.”
He added, “Unless housing supply increases, these additional potential buyers becoming active in the market could simply push up home prices. This will put increasing pressure on affordability, which is why it is critical to increase supply by building more homes.”
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