(Business Insider) - The logjam that's hobbled the US housing market all year won't let up, and there's new data to show how badly things are stuck in 2025.
- High mortgage rates continue to negatively impact the US housing market.
- Data shows that pending home sales dropped more than anticipated last month.
- This comes as housing prices have risen even as inventory has also jumped.
On Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors released a new report showing that pending home sales in the US decreased 0.8% from May to June. Year-over-year pending sales dropped 2.8%.
The trade association's Pending Home Sales Index (PHS) measures housing contract activity, based on signed real estate contracts for existing single-family homes, condos, and co-ops.
The decline in June isn't for lack of inventory to lure prospective buyers. On the contrary, the number of houses listed for sale has increased, even as a growing number of sellers opt to delist their homes from the market rather than accept a lower price.
In a tough twist for buyers, the rise in supply has done nothing to bring down home prices, which hit an all-time high last month.
The steady rise in prices continues a painful trend for buyers. As NAR deputy chief economist Jessica Lautz stated, "buyers have been pushed to the sidelines for two and a half years, waiting for a reprieve in affordability."
Conditions have been particularly tough for first-time buyers, many of whom are younger. An increasing number of Generation Z members say that they see renting as a better than owning amid high prices and elevated mortgage rates.
By Samuel O'Brient
July 30, 2025
