Housing sales edge up slightly this year

Pending home sales inched up 1.4% from the previous month and grew 3.2% year-over-year, according to the National Association of Realtors data. This growth suggests the housing market may be stabilizing, despite many economic factors still in flux.

Homebuyers showed cautious optimism in April, with pending home sales increasing on a monthly basis in all major geographic regions but the South and rising on an annual basis everywhere except the Northeast.

Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, said buyers are coming out with cautious optimism despite increasing economic uncertainty and a slight rise in mortgage rates. He added that demand will easily be higher once mortgage rates retreat to the levels they were at earlier this year.

The Northeast saw the largest month-over-month gains, with pending home sales up 6.6%. Meanwhile, pending sales were up 3% in the Midwest, 0.4% in the West — and down 0.7% in the South.

On an annual basis, pending sales inched up the most in the South, rising 4.7%. The West saw an annual gain of 3.8% while the Midwest posted a 2.7% increase and the Northeast saw a 0.6% decline.

Though home prices are generally higher compared to one year ago and fewer price discounts are being offered, interest in the market has grown, Yun said. Over 1 in 3 homesellers slashed their asking price in April, down from 35.6% in March, which may indicate a market fragmentation in the future.

Stephen Kates, a financial analyst, cautioned that April’s hopeful growth in pending sales may not last amid persistently elevated mortgage rates and the high cost of homeownership. On a year-over-year basis, the improvement in rates compared to 2025 is shrinking, he said.

Pending Sales Growth May Be Short-Lived

Inflation fluctuations over the next few months will also impact rates — and how much consumers are willing to spend, according to a senior economic research analyst. Higher inflation generally puts upward pressure on mortgage rates, which have already started drifting back above 6.3% in early May.

Beyond rates, inflation running ahead of wage growth means household budgets are being squeezed, a dynamic that could dampen buyer confidence heading into the traditionally active summer months, making down payments more challenging for buyers.

Nancy Vanden Houten, lead economist at Oxford Economics, said home sales will likely move sideways for the next couple of quarters before beginning to gradually increase late in the year. She expects the Federal Reserve to cut short-term interest rates around that time.

Despite consumers’ continued economic uncertainty, housing market conditions are largely better for buyers than this time last year, with inventory slightly up, price growth cooling and incomes rising, a senior economist said. They added that those conditions could support firmer sales activity in the second half of 2026 if mortgage rates stabilize and broader economic uncertainty eases, which requires effective communication between buyers and sellers.

Regional Sales Trends

• Pending sales in the Northeast increased 6.6% month-over-month
• Pending sales in the Midwest increased 3% month-over-month
• Pending sales in the West increased 0.4% month-over-month
• Pending sales in the South decreased 0.7% month-over-month

For more information on the housing market, visit the National Association of Realtors website.