Financial News: U.S. Pending Home Sales Jump More Than Expected

U.S. Pending Home Sales Jump More Than Expected In April

05/19/2026 - 10:34:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - The National Association of Realtors released a report on Tuesday showing pending home sales in the U.S. jumped by more than expected in the month of April.

NAR said its pending home sales index shot up by 1.4 percent to 74.8 in April after surging by 1.7 percent to an upwardly revised 73.8 in March.

Economists had expected pending home sales to increase by 0.9 percent compared to the 1.5 percent leap originally reported for the previous month.

With the bigger than expected advance, the pending home sales index reached its highest level since hitting 77.2 last November.

"Buyers are coming out with cautious optimism despite increasing economic uncertainty and a slight rise in mortgage rates," said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun.

He added, "Demand will easily be even higher once mortgage rates retreat to the levels they were at earlier this year."

The bigger than expected jump by pending home sales partly reflected continued strength in the Midwest, where pending home sales surged by 3.0 percent.

Pending home sales in the Northeast also spiked by 6.6 percent, while pending home sales in the West rose by 0.4 percent and pending home sales in the South slid by 0.7 percent.

On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders released a separate report showing an unexpected improvement in homebuilder confidence in the month of May.

The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index climbed to 37 in May after slumping to a seven-month low of 34 in April. Economists had expected the index to remain unchanged.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Market News provided by RTTNews

RECENT INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWS

Slovakia Construction Output Growth Eases In April (07 hr(s), 44 min(s), 19 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Slovakia's construction production growth moderated after accelerating sharply in ...Full Story»

Germany Factory Orders Fall More Than Forecast (07 hr(s), 49 min(s), 19 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Germany's factory orders declined more than expected in April as frontloading effe ...Full Story»

Eurozone Investor Sentiment Improves For Second Month (09 hr(s), 20 min(s), 19 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Eurozone investor confidence improved for the second straight month in June, signallin ...Full Story»

Iceland Trade Gap Narrows In May (10 hr(s), 07 min(s), 19 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Iceland's foreign trade deficit decreased in May from a year ago, preliminary figu ...Full Story»

Japan GDP Growth Revised Down To 1.8% (10 hr(s), 31 min(s), 19 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Japan's economy expanded a slower pace than initially estimated in the first quart ...Full Story»

Lithuania Inflation Climbs To 33-month High (12 hr(s), 05 min(s), 19 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Lithuania's consumer price inflation accelerated further in May to the highest lev ...Full Story»

Czech Industrial Output Growth Improves; Trade Surplus Shrinks (12 hr(s), 07 min(s), 19 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The Czech Republic's industrial output growth accelerated somewhat in April, while ...Full Story»

Germany Factory Orders Decline (13 hr(s), 03 min(s), 19 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Germany's factory orders declined more than expected in April, data from Destatis ...Full Story»