Housing demand in the U.S. as measured in pending home sales 2001-2024, per month
The number of pending home sales in the U.S. declined dramatically in the fourth quarter of 2021. In March 2024, the pending home sales index stood at 78.2 index points, just 8.2 index points above its lowest value recorded in April 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The slowdown in buying activity was triggered by the aggressive mortgage interest rates hikes in response to the rising inflation.
As it takes around four to eight weeks to finalize a home sale in the United States, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) index is seen as a measure of consumer sentiment on buying a house and essentially provides an early outlook on what the actual sales of existing homes in the country might potentially look like.
