NAR’s 2025 final report showed growing momentum for homebuyers
In November, pending home sales posted their best-ever performance of 2025, a sign of growing confidence among homebuyers in response to factors such as increased affordability and higher inventories.
Homebuyers headed to the market with growing confidence in November, providing a welcome boost to the National Association of Realtors’ upcoming home sales forecast. final report of the year.
Pending home sales increased 3.3 percent month-over-month and 2.6 percent year-over-year, which is the best representation of pending home sales for 2025 after accounting for seasonality. By region, pending home sales increased both month-over-month and year-over-year in all four major regions of the country.
That buyer movement is also giving agents renewed confidence: 22 percent of NAR members believe they will see an increase in buyer traffic in the next three months, up from 17 percent in October. However, that figure is lower than 24 percent of NAR members who believed traffic would increase during the same period the year before.
Lawrence Yun
On the seller side, 18 percent of NAR members believe there will be an increase in seller activity, up from 16 percent the month before and down from 22 percent the year before.
“Homebuyer momentum is increasing,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “The data shows the strongest performance of the year, after taking into account seasonal factors, and the best performance in nearly three years, going back to February 2023. Improving housing affordability – driven by lower mortgage rates and wage growth rising faster than home prices – is helping buyers test the market. More inventory choices compared to last year are also drawing more buyers to the market.”
During the last week of the year, the average 30-year mortgage rate reached its lowest level in 2025, at 6.15 percent. Freddie Mac.
Pending home sales saw the largest month-over-month increase in the West, where pending home sales rose 9.2 percent from the previous month and 2.4 percent from the year before.
In the South, pending home sales increased by 2.4 percent compared to October 2025 and by 3.3 percent compared to November 2024.
The Midwest and Northeast saw more modest growth, with the Midwest posting a 1.3 percent month-over-month increase and a 2.2 percent year-over-year increase. Pending sales rose 1.8 percent on both a monthly and annual basis in the Northeast.
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