An “Open House” sign in front of a home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, United States, Sunday, January 11, 2026.
Zak Bennett | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Stagnating mortgage rates, declining housing supply and continued economic uncertainty weighed heavily on homebuyers in December.
Pending home sales, a measure of signed contracts on existing homes, fell 9.3% last month compared to November, according to the National Association of Realtors. Analysts had expected a slight gain.
Sales were 3% lower than in December 2024.
“The housing sector is not out of the woods yet,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at Realtors. “After several months of encouraging signs regarding current contracts and closed sales, December’s new contract figures have clouded the near-term outlook.”
Sales fell month over month in all regions of the United States and increased each year only in the South.
Homes also stayed on the market longer in December, averaging 39 days compared to 35 days in December 2024.
Mortgage rates in December, when these deals were made, were virtually unchanged. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed loan was around 6.25%, according to Mortgage News Daily. That’s slightly lower than in the summer, but consumers also faced a market with fewer homes available for sale.
There were just 1.18 million homes on the market in December, down 9% from November and matching the lowest inventory level in 2025. Inventory is up 12% from last year, but that level is extremely low.
“Consumers prefer to see abundant inventory before making the big decision to purchase a home. Thus, the decline in pending home sales could be the result of consumers’ dampened enthusiasm for purchasing a home when there are so few options for sale,” Yun added.