Pending home sales unexpectedly plunge in July as mortgage rates hit contract signings
Macro
U.S. pending home sales unexpectedly fell 2.3% in July to an index level of 71.2, the lowest since January 2026, according to the National Association of Realtors. The decline compared with a consensus forecast for a 1.4% increase and followed a revised 4.8% drop in June. Pending transactions were down 2.2% from a year earlier, with sales declining in all four major U.S. regions. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the highest mortgage rates of the year hit in the middle of summer, pulling back contract signings, and noted pending contracts are 30% below their pre-pandemic 2019 level while payroll employment is 5% above.
