Pending-Home Sales Drop to New Low

Recent research from real estate marketplace Redfin shows that pending-home sales in the U.S. declined by 5.9% month-over-month in December 2025 to the lowest level recorded since April 2020. On a year-over-year basis, pending sales declined even further, by 7.4%.

Why did pending sales decline?

Growing home prices and a drop in active listings caused pending deals to decline in December. The median sales price for new and existing homes increased by 0.5% year-over-year that month to $428,742, which is the highest December level on record. At the same time, active listings fell by 1.1% month-over-month.

These conditions also caused some buyers to back out of deals, with about 40,000 home-purchase cancellations recorded in December. That’s the highest December share in records dating back to 2017.

Not all metros saw pending sales decline

Pending-home sales fell nationwide in December, but some metros saw an increased number of deals. In West Palm Beach, Fla., pending-home sales increased by 11.7%, followed by Riverside, Calif., at 6.7%, and Anaheim, Calif., at 5%.