Home contract signings jumped 1.9% in October from a month earlier, the latest evidence that lower mortgage rates helped bring more buyers back into the market despite the government shutdown.
Pending home sales, a measure of homes under contract, rose in all parts of the country last month except for the West, according to data from the National Association of Realtors released on Tuesday. The biggest jump came in the relatively affordable Midwest, where contract signings rose 5.3% from September.
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Mortgage rates fell throughout October, reaching 6.17% — their lowest level of the year — by the end of the month. They’ve since increased somewhat but remain not far from year-to-date lows.
Though contract signings increased month over month, they are down 0.4% from a year earlier.
"While lower rates have brought out more buyers this fall, there are still major constraints in the housing market, and home sales activity is likely to be slow through the end of 2025," Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for Bright MLS, said in a statement.
Buyers who went under contract in October had to contend with uncertainty stemming from the government shutdown, which spanned the entire month and into November. Most mortgage lending continued as normal throughout the shutdown, though disruptions to US Department of Agriculture loans and the National Flood Insurance Program delayed some closings.
Homes typically go under contract a month or two before they’re sold, making pending home data a leading indicator of future sales activity.
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Claire Boston is a Senior Reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.
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