October 2023 Pending Sales Fall to Lowest since April 2020

NAR released a summary of pending home sales data showing that October’s pending home sales pace declined 1.5% from last month and fell 8.5% from a year ago. The pending sales index in April 2020 was 71.8 during the pandemic.

Pending sales represent homes with a signed contract to purchase but have yet to close. They tend to lead Existing Home Sales data by 1 to 2 months.

All four regions showed declines from a year ago. The West had the largest dip, at 10.8%, followed by the Midwest, with a drop of 10.3%. The South fell 7.1%, followed by the Northeast with the smallest decline of 6.5%.

From last month, three regions showed declines in contract signings. The Northeast had the only increase of 2.7%. The West region had the biggest decline in contracts, 6.0%, followed by the South, which fell 1.9.%. The Midwest region had the smallest drop in contracts, 0.4%.

The U.S. pending home sales index level for the month of October was 71.4. September’s pending sales figures were revised to 72.5.

October’s contract signings bring the pending index below the 100-level mark for the nineteenth consecutive month.

The 100 level is based on a 2001 benchmark and is consistent with existing-home sales above the 5 million mark.