Pending home sales down in the US, Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Pending home sales in the U.S. are down, recently hitting the lowest level since early April.

In the four weeks ending July 26, the number of seasonally adjusted sales pending nationwide was at 322,739 after a steady decline, new data from the online real estate brokerage Redfin shows.

In just the last week of that time period, sales were down 1.7%.

The drop is due at least in part to rising mortgage rates, Redfin posted. The weekly average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the U.S. climbed to 6.66% as of Thursday, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, better known as Freddie Mac.

Friday, the daily index rate jumped to 6.83% at Mortgage News Daily, nearly the highest in a year and a 0.06 percentage point hike from Thursday. Rates have generally been heading up since dipping below 6% just before the late February launch of the ongoing war against Iran.

Despite "widespread economic uncertainty" fueled by the war's impact on everything from gas prices to geopolitical tensions, Redfin said there's still "a few bright spots for the buyers who are in the market."

'Bright spots' for homebuyers

That includes a decline in the median U.S. monthly house payment to $2,575, the lowest level in three months. The reason given for the 1.3% dip, calculated at a 6.58% mortgage rate, is that median asking prices aren't going up since sellers outnumber buyers in much of the country.

Bonnie Phillips, a real estate agent in Cleveland, offered some advice for would-be homebuyers who are waiting to see a significant drop in mortgage rates before making a move in the current market.

"It's important for house hunters to remember that while mortgage rates were much lower during the pandemic, every listing was ultra-competitive; buyers often had to pay tens of thousands of dollars over the asking price to win a home," Phillips said in the Redfin post.

"Rates are higher now, but bidding wars are unlikely and buyers are often able to negotiate prices down and get concessions from sellers. Today's housing market rewards patience over panic," she said.

Where pending home sales changed the most

Among the nation's 50 most populous metropolitan areas, a list that does not include any place in Utah, the biggest year-over-year jump in pending sales for the four weeks ending July 26 was 15.4% in West Palm Beach, Florida, followed by Boston, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Sacramento.

The metro areas that saw the biggest decrease from the same four weeks in 2025 were Houston, where pending sales were down 15.4%; Seattle, 13.9%; Phoenix, 12.5%; Denver, 7.7%; and San Diego, 7.1%.

The Utah Association of Realtors' most recent monthly report found pending home sales were down 9.9% statewide in June. The association's data, however, is continually updated, with May's 6% drop in pending sales being adjusted to a 1.8% decline in the June report.

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