Pending Sales of US Homes Decline for First Time Since July
- December contract signings fell 5.5%, worse than all estimates
- Costliest regions in West and Northeast saw biggest drops
A "For Sale" sign in the West Seattle neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.
Photographer: David Ryder/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Pending sales of US homes declined last month for the first time since July, as high borrowing costs and prices especially hit the costliest parts of the country.
Contract signings fell 5.5% to 74.2 in December, according to a National Association of Realtors index released Thursday. The drop was weaker than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists and was dragged most by the West and Northeast, which each saw their biggest monthly declines since 2022.