【World Property Journal】U.S. Housing Outlook for 2026 Darkens After Sharp December Pullback in Contract Signings

The U.S. housing market ended 2025 on a weaker footing than expected, raising fresh concerns about momentum heading into 2026 as buyers pulled back sharply from signing new contracts.

Pending home sales -- a forward-looking gauge of closed transactions -- fell 9.3% in December 2025 from the prior month and were down 3% from a year earlier, according to data released last Thursday by the National Association of Realtors. The decline erased gains from recent months and marked one of the steepest monthly drops of the year.

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