October said its pending home sales index shot up by 1.9 percent to 76.3 in October after inching up by 0.1 percent to an upwardly revised 74.9 in September.

A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.

With the unexpected increase, the pending home sales index reached its highest level since hitting 77.2 in November 2024.

The surge by pending home sales partly reflected strength in the Midwest, where pending home sales spiked by 5.3 percent.

Pending home sales in the Northeast and South also jumped by 2.3 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, while pending home sales in the West slumped by 1.5 percent.

NAR said October's REALTORS Confidence Index survey shows that 17 percent of NAR members expect an increase in buyer traffic over the next three months, down from 20 percent September and 19 percent a year ago.

Meanwhile, 16 percent expect an increase in seller traffic, down from 19 percent in September and 19 percent in October 2024, NAR said.

Powered by Commodity Insights