What did pending home sales look like in April 2025?
Homes for sale in the U.S. are near a five-year high even as pending home sales dipped across the nation, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) said in a report released today.
The NAR’s chief economist expressed optimism that sales will improve heading into the spring and summer homebuying season as mortgage interest rates drop and more properties come onto the market.
"At this critical stage of the housing market, it is all about mortgage rates," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said.
Pending home sales are indicators of the direction of the housing market in general based on purchase contracts signed for homes for sale.
Which regions showed changes in pending home sales?
The four regions the NAR tracks in the U.S. showed declines in pending sales in April from the previous month, though pending sales in the Midwest increased over last year.
- The Northeast experienced a 0.6% decrease in pending home sales from last month, down 3% from a year ago.
- Pending sales in the Midwest slipped 5% from the previous month but increased 2.2% from the same time last year.
- Signed contracts in the South dropped 7.7% from the previous month, down 3% from the previous year.
- The West saw a drop of 8.9% in pending home sales from the previous month, down 6.5% from a year ago.
Other signals in the economy could also put more homes onto the market and make them more affordable, the NAR report indicated.
“Homebuyers have a better chance to purchase homes in affordable regions such as the Midwest, where the typical home price is $313,000 – 25% below the national median home price," Yun added in the NAR report. “Moreover, with housing inventory levels reaching five-year highs, homebuyers in nearly every region of the country are in a better position to negotiate more favorable terms."
With winter and the holiday season now fully behind us, contract signing could pick up even more as mortgage interest rates decline and we head deeper into the traditional spring and summer homebuying season.
Did mortgage rates show any change?
According to data from Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.86% as of May 22*. That’s up from 6.81% one week ago but down from 6.94% one year ago.
Cooling mortgage rates would be a welcome sign to prospective homebuyers. A decrease in mortgage rates could also signal movement in the housing market as we head further into the traditional spring and summer homebuying season.
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* National average rates from Freddie Mac as of May 22, 2025, are not advertised rates from Guaranteed Rate Affinity.
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