Zillow Report: Home Sales Slump as Pending Sales Drop 8.5%
Zillow's September housing report signals a market cooldown, with newly pending sales falling 8.5% and existing home sales declining 2.5% year over year.
The U.S. housing market showed renewed signs of stress in September, with newly pending home sales dropping 8.5% compared to the prior year, according to Zillow's latest monthly market report. The metric, which tracks homes entering contract and serves as a forward-looking gauge for future closed transactions, suggests the sales slowdown is likely to persist into the coming months.
Existing home sales also declined, falling 2.5% from September of the previous year, based on Zillow's nowcast estimates. The dual retreat in both current and pending sales has led analysts to characterize market conditions as an early onset of the traditional winter slowdown — arriving sooner and more sharply than typical seasonal patterns would suggest.
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Mortgage rates remain a central pressure point weighing on buyer activity, limiting affordability and keeping would-be purchasers on the sidelines. Elevated borrowing costs have consistently suppressed transaction volume throughout much of the year, and September's data indicates that dynamic has not meaningfully shifted.
In contrast, the rental market offered a diverging signal. Rental prices recorded their largest annual gain since April 2025, pointing to sustained demand in that segment as prospective buyers opt to remain renters amid financing constraints. The strength in rents underscores the affordability bind facing households who might otherwise transition to homeownership.
The combination of falling sales activity and rising rents reflects a market caught between high ownership costs and robust underlying housing demand. Continue reading at Economic News, Trends, Analysis.
