US Pending-Home Sales Plunge by Most Since Start of Pandemic (1)

Pending sales of US existing homes fell in December by the most since April 2020, an unusually large drop after the housing market appeared to be gaining some momentum.

An index of contract signings decreased 9.3% to 71.8 last month, according to data released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. The decline was regionally broad and well below the lowest estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

“The housing sector is not out of the woods yet,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “After several months of encouraging signs in pending contracts ...