- Prior month was 0.3% revised lower from +1.4%. Pending home sales index prior month 74.0 revised lower from 74.8.
- Pending home sales index 76.8
The U.S. housing market showed signs of improvement in May as pending home sales, a leading indicator of future home purchases, rose 3.8% month-over-month and 4.6% from a year ago.
The gains were broad-based, with all four major U.S. regions posting increases. Existing-home sales also rose 3.2% in May, one of the strongest readings in the past three years. In contrast, the US housing starts released yesterday were much weaker at 1.177M vs 1.430 million estimate.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said
The pickup reflects pent-up demand and growing acceptance of higher borrowing costs. While home prices remain elevated, annual price growth has slowed, and rising wages are helping offset affordability pressures. Inventory remains the key challenge, with Yun estimating that housing supply would need to increase by roughly 30% to significantly improve conditions for buyers.
May 2026 Regional Pending Home Sales
Northeast
- 8.7% increase month-over-month
- 6.1% increase year-over-year
Midwest
- 8.1% increase month-over-month
- 9.3% increase year-over-year
South
- 1.0% increase month-over-month
- 3.3% increase year-over-year
West
- 0.7% increase month-over-month
- 1.2% increase year-over-year
Top Metro Areas by Annual Increase in Pending Sales
- Kansas City, MO-KS: +20.1%
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX: +15.7%
- Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI: +13.9%
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: +11.4%
- Louisville, KY-IN: +11.2%
- Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN: +10.1%
- Nashville, TN: +9.4%
- Milwaukee, WI: +8.7%
- Virginia Beach, VA-NC: +8.2%
- Richmond, VA: +8.2%
The data points to a housing market that is gradually regaining momentum despite mortgage rates remaining above 6%, with the Midwest and Northeast leading the latest surge in buyer activity.
