Washington, D.C., Aug. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pending home sales in July decreased by 2.3% month-over-month and 2.2% year-over-year, according to the National Association of REALTORS® Pending Home Sales report. The report provides the real estate ecosystem—including agents, homebuyers and sellers—with data on the level of home sales under contract.
Pending home sales in July fell to the lowest level since January 2026. Month-over-month pending home sales declined in all four major U.S. regions. Year-over-year pending home sales increased in the Midwest but declined in the Northeast, South and West.
“The highest mortgage rates of the year hit right in the middle of summer, and that's pulling back contract signings,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Home prices are at record highs so houses for sale are sitting on the market longer, and fewer buyers are bidding above the asking price than a year ago, though there are large local market variations.”
“Job gains should bring more buyers into the market, especially if mortgage rates stabilize or decline, though that impact takes time to show up,” Yun said. “Right now, pending contracts are 30% below their pre-pandemic 2019 level, while payroll employment is 5% above. That gap points to sizable pent-up demand that should be unleashed in the coming years as more supply reaches the market and affordability improves.”
July 2026 National Pending Home Sales
- 2.3% decrease month-over-month
- 2.2% decrease year-over-year
July 2026 Regional Pending Home Sales
Northeast
- 2.0% decrease month-over-month
- 0.2% decrease year-over-year
Midwest
- 0.7% decrease month-over-month
- 1.7% increase year-over-year
South
- 2.2% decrease month-over-month
- 3.0% decrease year-over-year
West
- 4.7% decrease month-over-month
- 7.1% decrease year-over-year
At the local level, several markets posted notable year-over-year gains in pending home sales. 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:
- Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC (+17.2%)
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX (+11.8%)
- Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN (+6.2%)
- Pittsburgh, PA (+3.7%)
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL (+2.4%)
- Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX (+1.6%)
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY (+1.3%)
- St. Louis, MO-IL (+1.2%)
- Jacksonville, FL (+1.2%)
- Columbus, OH (+0.2%)
About the National Association of REALTORS®
The National Association of REALTORS® is involved in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate. The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. For free consumer guides about navigating the homebuying and selling transaction processes—from written buyer agreements to negotiating compensation—visit facts.realtor.
# # #
*The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.
Pending contracts are good early indicators of upcoming sales closings. However, the amount of time between pending contracts and completed sales is not identical for all home sales. Variations in the length of the process from pending contract to closed sale can be caused by issues such as buyer difficulties with obtaining mortgage financing, home inspection problems, or appraisal issues.
The index is based on a sample that covers about 40% of multiple listing service data each month. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months.
An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined. By coincidence, the volume of existing-home sales in 2001 fell within the range of 5.0 to 5.5 million, which is considered normal for the current U.S. population.
Information about NAR is available at nar.realtor. This and other news releases are posted in the newsroom at nar.realtor/newsroom. Statistical data in this release, as well as other tables and surveys, are posted in the “Research and Statistics” tab.
