US Pending-Home Sales Plunge by Most Since Start of Pandemic

Prospective buyers arrive during an open house at a home in Seattle.

Photographer: David Ryder/Bloomberg

Pending sales of US existing homes fell in December by the most since April 2020, an unusually large drop after the housing market appeared to be gaining some momentum.

An index of contract signings decreased 9.3% to 71.8 last month, according to data released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. The decline was regionally broad and well below the lowest estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.