Pending home sales rose in May both on a monthly and annual basis, reflecting a late spring buying rush that may signal homebuyers’ acceptance of mid-6% mortgage rates as the new normal.
Contract signings increased 3.8% month over month and 4.8% year over year, according to the National Association of Realtors® Pending Home Sales report released Wednesday.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the data shows that elevated borrowing costs are not deterring buyers from coming off the sidelines even in the midst of geopolitical uncertainty.
“Going forward, falling oil prices will help lower mortgage rates,” predicted Yun. “But declines will be modest given sizable borrowing by the federal government and strong AI investment spending by tech companies.”
Notably, in May all four regions posted significant gains, with the most high-demand, low-supply areas emerging as the biggest winners.
Month-over-month pending home sales rose in the Northeast (8.7%), Midwest (8.1%), South (1%), and West (0.7%). Annually, contract signings climbed in the Midwest (9.3%), Northeast (6.1%), South (3.3%), and West (1.2%).
 “The inventory-constrained Northeast region, which has seen faster home price growth but slower home sales for several months, is now showing more buyer contract signings,” said Yun. “More supply is needed to help moderate home price growth.”
At the metro level, Kansas City, MO (+20.1%), San Antonio, TX (+15.7%), and Minneapolis, MN (+13.9%) recorded the biggest year-over-year gains among the 50 largest markets.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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Snejana Farberov is a reporter at Realtor.com covering the U.S. housing market and the latest domestic real estate trends. She has worked as a general assignment journalist in New York City and Long Island for 16 years, writing for New York Post, Daily Mail, and News 12. Snejana earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Italian from St. John’s University, followed by a master’s degree from Columbia University School of Journalism.
