NAR Pending Home Sales Report Shows 1.4% Increase in April

Washington, D.C., May 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pending home sales in April increased by 1.4% month-over-month and rose 3.2% year-over-year, according to the National Association of REALTORS^® Pending Home Sales report. The report provides the real estate ecosystem—including agents, homebuyers and sellers—with data on the level of home sales under contract.

Month-over-month pending home sales rose in the Northeast, Midwest and West, and declined in the South. Year-over-year pending home sales rose in the Midwest, South and West, and declined in the Northeast.

“Buyers are coming out with cautious optimism despite increasing economic uncertainty and a slight rise in mortgage rates,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Demand will easily be even higher once mortgage rates retreat to the levels they were at earlier this year.”

“Historically low foreclosure sales imply minimal price discounts, with a majority of markets selling at a higher price from a year ago,” Yun said. “Unless supply meaningfully increases, home price growth could outpace wage growth and further erode the homeownership rate. All efforts need to be focused on boosting housing supply.”

April 2026 National Pending Home Sales

1.4% increase month-over-month
3.2% increase year-over-year

April 2026 Regional Pending Home Sales

Northeast

6.6% increase month-over-month
0.6% decrease year-over-year

Midwest

3.0% increase month-over-month
2.7% increase year-over-year

South

0.7% decrease month-over-month
4.7% increase year-over-year

West

0.4% increase month-over-month
3.8% increase year-over-year

At the local level, several markets posted notable year-over-year gains in pending home sales. Among the 50 largest metro areas, the following 10 markets posted the biggest annual increases in pending home sales, according to data from Realtor.com^® Economics:

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH (+10.3%)
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL (+9.4%)
Oklahoma City, OK (+8.6%)
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI (+7.4%)
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC (+7.2%)
Raleigh-Cary, NC (+5.7%)
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+5.5%)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (+5.4%)
Columbus, OH (+5.4%)
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC (+5.1%)

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.

# # #

*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.

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

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.