U.S. Pending Home Sales Slightly Higher in August

By Dean Seal

The number of homes going under contract in the U.S. ticked up slightly in August despite higher mortgage rates, though the housing market remains sluggish. Here are the main takeaways from the National Association of Realtors' report.

--The pending home sales index, a leading indicator of house sales based on contract signings, rose 0.3% in August to 71.2. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.5% increase.

--NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun said buyers steadily entered into contracts despite higher rates, though contract signings are weaker than last year. "This is due to higher mortgage rates offsetting the increased buying power created by job gains and income growth outpacing home price growth," Yun said.

--Regionally, the West posted the sharpest month-over-month increase, rising 3%, though it also had the biggest year-over-year drop in pending sales of any region in the U.S. The South had a 2.3% increase month-over-month, while pending sales in the Midwest and Northeast declined from July after those regions saw faster home price growth.

--On the year, pending home sales fell 4.7%.

--"Nationally, contract signings today are running roughly 30% below where they were in the years leading up to the pandemic," Yun said. "Transaction activity peaked in 2021 when mortgage rates fell to near 3%, a historic low, and has not approached that level since."

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 17, 2026 10:15 ET (14:15 GMT)