NAR Pending Home Sales Report Shows 4.0% Increase in August
Washington, D.C., Sept. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pending home sales in August increased by 4.0% from the prior month and rose 3.8% year-over-year, according to the National Association of REALTORS® Pending Home Sales Report. The Report provides the real estate ecosystem, including agents and homebuyers and sellers, with data on the level of home sales under contract.
Pending sales rose month-over-month in the Midwest, South, and West, and declined in the Northeast. Year-over-year, sales increased in all regions. August’s REALTORS® Confidence Index survey shows that 19% of NAR members expect an increase in buyer traffic over the next three months, up from 16% last month and unchanged from one year ago. Meanwhile, 19% expect an increase in seller traffic, down from 21% last month and up from 18% in August 2024.
“Lower mortgage rates are enabling more homebuyers to go under contract,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “In the Midwest, low mortgage rates combined with high levels of affordability are attracting more buyers compared to other regions.”
August 2025 National Pending Home Sales
- 4.0% increase month-over-month
- 3.8% increase year-over-year
August 2025 Regional Pending Home Sales
Northeast
- 1.1% decrease month-over-month
- 2.6% increase year-over-year
Midwest
- 8.7% increase month-over-month
- 6.7% increase year-over-year
South
- 3.1% increase month-over-month
- 4.2% increase year-over-year
West
- 5.0% increase month-over-month
- 0.2% increase year-over-year
The percent of change in pending home sales is based on the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* – a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on home-contract signings. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
About the National Association of Realtors®
The National Association of Realtors® is involved in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate. The term Realtor® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of Realtors® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. For free consumer guides about navigating the homebuying and selling transaction processes – from written buyer agreements to negotiating compensation – visit facts.realtor.
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*The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.
Pending contracts are good early indicators of upcoming sales closings. However, the amount of time between pending contracts and completed sales is not identical for all home sales. Variations in the length of the process from pending contract to closed sale can be caused by issues such as buyer difficulties with obtaining mortgage financing, home inspection problems, or appraisal issues.
The index is based on a sample that covers about 40% of multiple listing service data each month. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months.
An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined. By coincidence, the volume of existing-home sales in 2001 fell within the range of 5.0 to 5.5 million, which is considered normal for the current U.S. population.
NOTE: Existing-Home Sales for September will be reported on October 23. The next Pending Home Sales Index will be released on October 29. All release times are 10 a.m. Eastern. View the NAR Statistical News Release Schedule.
Information about NAR is available at nar.realtor. This and other news releases are posted in the newsroom at nar.realtor/newsroom. Statistical data in this release, as well as other tables and surveys, are posted in the “Research and Statistics” tab.
National Association of Realtors® media@nar.realtor
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