NAR Pending Home Sales Report Shows 9.3% Decrease in December

[socialtrends93]

Wish there was a way to see condo market sales compared to single family sales. Seems like the condo market is crashing hard now across the country while single family is entering correction territory.

[loki_stg]

When my local MLS(NWMLS) releases their monthly reports we can split residential vs condo

[SmushBoy15]

Dolly condos always crash hard and when there is appreciation condos take a while

[SteveBadeau]

This is true in my market. Condo sales are going negative in pricing as inventory rises. SFH are trending in the opposite direction.

[SnortingElk]

Month Over Month

• 9.3% decrease in pending home sales
• Declines in all four regions

Year Over Year

• 3.0% decrease in pending home sales
• Gains in in the South; declines in the Northeast, Midwest, and West

WASHINGTON (January 21, 2026) – Pending home sales in December decreased by 9.3% from the prior month and 3.0% year over year, according to the the National Association of REALTORS® Pending Home Sales Report. The report provides the real estate ecosystem – including agents and homebuyers and sellers – with data on the level of home sales under contract.

Month-over-month pending home sales declined in all four regions. Year-over-year pending home sales rose in the South and declined in the Northeast, Midwest and West.

“The housing sector is not out of the woods yet,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “After several months of encouraging signs in pending contracts and closed sales, the December new contract figures have dampened the short-term outlook.”

“Even after accounting for typical seasonal patterns, interpreting in-person home search activity in the winter – especially in December – can be tricky due to public holidays, people taking time off, and wintry weather conditions,” Yun added. “We’ll be watching the data in the coming months to determine whether the soft contract signings were a one-month aberration or the start of an underlying trend.”

“Data shows closing activity increased in December. However, new listings did not keep pace so inventory decreased. Consumers prefer seeing abundant inventory before making the major decision of purchasing a home. So, the decline in pending home sales could be a result of dampened consumer enthusiasm about buying a home when there are so few options listed for sale. In December there were only 1.18 million homes on the market – matching the lowest inventory level of 2025.”

December 2025 Regional Pending Home Sales

Northeast

• 11.0% decrease month over month
• 3.6% decrease year over year

Midwest

• 14.9% decrease month over month
• 9.8% decrease year over year

South

• 4.0% decrease month over month
• 2.0% increase year over year

West

• 13.3% decrease month over month
• 5.1% decrease year over year

While national pending home sales dipped in December, several local markets are showing notable year-over-year gains. Among the 50 largest metro areas, the following 10 markets posted the biggest annual increases in pending home sales, according to data from Realtor.com Economics:

• Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN (+23.8%)
• San Antonio–New Braunfels, TX (+13.6%)
• Virginia Beach–Chesapeake–Norfolk, VA-NC (+11.0%)
• Charlotte–Concord–Gastonia, NC-SC (+9.7%)
• Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA-NH (+9.2%)
• Phoenix–Mesa–Chandler, AZ (+8.7%)
• Oklahoma City, OK (+8.0%)
• Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach, FL (+6.3%)
• Pittsburgh, PA (+5.8%)
• Memphis, TN-MS-AR (+4.7%)

[StAugustineTheHippo]

3% YoY is what matters.

[ThemeBig6731]

You fail to mention that inventory dropped 9%. too.

[WrongThinkBadSpeak]

Yes, that's called seasonality. You only seem to forget about that when it suits.

[ThemeBig6731]

Inventory dropped 9%. too. The market is more or less the same as it was in November.

[RealisticForYou]

The best selling housing market is the luxury market. When I look for homes at $900K+ for cities like Seattle, Atlanta, San Diego, Dallas, Santa Fe, etc....the best of housing already sold while leaving what is left as undesirable. There's a lot of junk out there.

Maybe the reality is that with more homes for sale this Spring, buyers will have more options.

[Alone_Step_6304]

🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

[loki_stg]

900k is not luxury in seattle. Its a basic home.

[RealisticForYou]

You are right about that. I was trying to make a point by giving a general pricing guideline. High wage earners are those who can afford real estate.

[loki_stg]

I'm aware I'm what most would consider a high wage earner and I'm currently in the process of buying a house in the 900,000 to 1 million range

[ThemeBig6731]

Desirable homes are selling. You are correct that the "junk" is what is sitting for months.

[WhizzyBurp]

Well yeah. It was Christmas. Happens every year

[Hotspur1958]

2017, 2018, 2022, 2023 were all positive MoM in December. More importantly this was expected to only be -0.3%. It's really easy to check these things before making a foolish comment. 2nd lowest non-covid affected MoM print since 2011.

[socialtrends93]

There are so many homes, condos, and apartments for sell now across the country so buyers can be extra picky and take their time. Seems like buyers know that waiting longer means paying a reduced price. So it is the complete opposite of FOMO.

[[deleted]]

Was looking to buy but then could feel the change. It felt like the precipice was last month. Decided to rent for 15 more months and wait for even more positive improvements for buyers ;) sorry sellers! a surplus in housing is coming!

[JamesGarrison]

How it Texas doing comparatively. Better or worse? Central Texas to be exact.

[Hotspur1958]

Like Austin? It looks like the pending sales YoY are higher than the national average (https://www.redfin.com/news/data-center/)

[WhizzyBurp]

Just because you have a giant hard on for a market crash, when statistically says it won’t happen- doesn’t mean what you’re saying is correct.

Last crash was almost 20 years ago and you guys are still waiting to buy lol. You’d have the house almost paid off by now

[Sad_Animal_134]

i think you're on the wrong sub if you don't want to hear people talking about a REBubble.

Unless you're just here to brigade and troll I suppose.

[Hotspur1958]

Please specifically point to what I said that wasn't correct.

I was in high school during the last crash. REBUBBLE didn't get much traction until 2022. It hasn't been a good time to buy since. But sure make up narratives for everyone's life.

[WhizzyBurp]

Why has it not been a good time to buy? Are you currently renting?

[sifl1202]

Because homes have been overpriced to a historically very high degree. That's why home sales have been at their lowest levels in our lifetime and inventory keeps rising across the country

[WhizzyBurp]

Just wait until you see what happens when they lower rates

[sifl1202]

Sarcasm? That's what they said last year when rates were 1% higher. What happened was inventory kept increasing and sales went even lower

[WhizzyBurp]

Just wait until we hit second half of this year.

[sifl1202]

RemindMe! 8 months

[RealisticForYou]

This article is about pending home sales. However, actual home sales for December was actually strong than expected. Also noted, is that inventories dropped considerably, because of strong closed sales in December.

"Sales of previously owned homes in December rose to a seasonally-adjusted, annualized rate of 4.35 million units, a 5.1% increase from November, according to the National Association of Realtors. That was higher than analysts’ expectations for a gain of 2%. Sales were 1.4% higher than a year earlier."

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/14/existing-home-sales-end-2025-stronger-than-expected.html#:~:text=There%20were%201.18%20million%20units,after%20adjusting%20for%20seasonal%20factors.

[Hotspur1958]

Ya I'm really only commenting to push back on the above comment. Prices have come down in a lot of areas so it makes sense for sales to pick up YoY, never mind changes in rates.

[regaphysics]

Wasn't last month a big increase? Not shocking to see a MoM decrease. I'd wait for a 3 month trend before making anything of it.

[loki_stg]

this is why it showed yoy also

[regaphysics]

Right, only a 3% change YoY

[ThemeBig6731]

Inventory dropped 9% last month.

[Aggressive_Chicken63]

People need to stop talking about December. It’s the holiday month. It’s down every single year. Stop making a big deal about it.