This morning, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their December report for Pending Home Sales. Sales in December were up 8.3% from November and up 1.3% from December 2022.
Today’s “surprising” jump in Pending Home Sales doesn’t seem like the huge improvement it’s made out to be… Pending Sales are coming off their record-low (hit just last month) and are still lower than during the worst of the 2007-08 housing crisis.
NAR attributes last month’s increase to falling interest rates, however mortgage rates are still among the highest in decades. Mortgage rates fell in December to 6.6% only to start 2024 by rising to 6.7%, suggesting this tailwind for the housing market may not last.
