Home purchase contracts dipped in June as elevated home prices and mortgage rates continued to weigh on housing-market activity.
The Pending Home Sales Index, which tracks contracts signed for previously owned homes that have not yet closed, fell 5.4 percent from May to 72.5, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Thursday. That was the lowest reading since January.
Compared with June 2025, pending sales were down 0.3 percent.
Contract signings declined from the previous month in all four major regions, according to NAR. The Midwest recorded the steepest drop from May, falling 8.9 percent, followed by declines of 4.7 percent in the West, 4.1 percent in the South, and 3 percent in the Northeast.
The year-over-year picture was more mixed. Pending sales rose 2.2 percent in the Northeast and 0.3 percent in the Midwest but fell 0.9 percent in the South and 1.1 percent in the West.
Pending sales are considered a key indicator of the housing market’s health, since most signed contracts result in completed sales within one or two months.
The latest decline comes as mortgage rates remain in the mid-6 percent range, down slightly from last year but still high enough to keep many prospective buyers on the sidelines. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.49 percent during the week ending July 9, while the daily average had risen to 6.64 percent by July 15.
Meanwhile, the median price of an existing home reached a record $440,600 in June.
“The highest mortgage rates in nearly a year and the record-high national median home price together are contributing to a tepid housing market that is especially difficult for first-time homebuyers,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.
“It is worth emphasizing that it is closing activity, not contract signings, that generates economic impact. Pending contracts are only suggestive of upcoming closed deals and do not align perfectly, due to fallout rates and contract contingencies.”
Separate data released Thursday by real estate brokerage Redfin pointed to a somewhat similar slowdown. According to Redfin, U.S. pending home sales fell 2.2 percent from the previous week during the four weeks ending July 12, marking their first weekly decline in a month.
Some buyers backed away because of persistently high housing costs, Redfin said. It also pointed to economic uncertainty after the collapse of the U.S.–Iran ceasefire and a jump in oil prices, although the company cautioned that the decline could partly reflect normal week-to-week volatility.
Would-be sellers also pulled back, with new listings falling 1.2 percent from the previous week to their lowest level since the beginning of the year. Redfin said some homeowners were choosing to remain in place rather than list their properties at a time of subdued demand, even though the market still has hundreds of thousands more sellers than buyers.
The latest housing data come days after a sweeping housing-affordability measure became law.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act cleared Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. The measure includes, among other things, a ban on institutional investors that own at least 350 single-family homes to buy additional existing homes, with exceptions of those purchasing or building new single-family homes specifically for the rental market.
President Donald Trump declined to sign the measure in protest over the Senate’s failure to advance the SAVE America Act, the election-integrity bill he has made a legislative priority. He did not veto the housing bill, allowing it to automatically become law on July 11 without his signature.
