US Pending Home Sales Declined 0.8% in January

- The decline in pending sales coincides with a drop in existing-home sales, which fell 8.4% in January to their lowest level since November 2024. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted that unusually cold and wet weather in January may have been a contributing factor to the disappointing sales figures. - From a regional perspective, pending home sales saw monthly increases in the Midwest and West but decreased in the Northeast and South. On a year-over-year basis, sales were up in the South and West but down in the Northeast and Midwest. - Despite the sales dip, housing affordability has been improving. The NAR's Housing Affordability Index reached its highest level since March 2022, buoyed by wage growth that is outpacing home price increases and mortgage rates that are lower than a year ago. - Total housing inventory was 3.4% higher than in January 2025, with 1.22 million units available. This represents a 3.7-month supply at the current sales pace, an increase from 3.5 months in December. - The 30-year fixed mortgage rate hovered around 6.1% at the end of January 2026. This is a notable decrease from the 7%-plus rates seen in late 2023 and has the potential to qualify an additional 5.5 million households for a mortgage. - Despite the monthly decline, some economists remain optimistic for 2026, with NAR forecasting a potential 14% increase in existing-home sales for the year. This projection is based on the expectation of continued lower mortgage rates and pent-up buyer demand. - The median price for an existing home set a new record for January at $396,800, a 0.9% increase from the previous year. This marks 31 straight months of year-over-year price gains. - Homes spent a median of 46 days on the market in January, which is longer than the 39 days in the previous month and 41 days a year prior. First-time buyers accounted for 31% of sales, an increase from both the prior month and the previous year.