The U.S. second-hand housing market is showing signs of a rebound, with the pending home sales index reaching a new high in nearly three years in November.

The U.S. existing home market shows signs of warming up. According to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Monday, the Pending Home Sales Index in November rose by 3.3% to 79.2, reaching a new high since February 2023, significantly higher than economists' expectations. The index measures the number of homes that have signed purchase contracts but have not yet completed delivery. Media surveys of economists show that this increase is only lower than one prediction, indicating that the market recovery is relatively widespread. Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, said in a statement, "The momentum of home buyers is increasing", mainly due to improved affordability and more housing options compared to last year. Data shows that existing home sales contracts have increased for four consecutive months, a trend that is comparable to the performance of the housing market during the hot period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest data further confirms the judgment of many economists that the housing market will gradually improve before 2026. The housing interest rates, which once approached 7% in May, have fallen to the range of 6.3% to 6.4%, and the year-on-year increase in house prices has also slowed significantly, providing support for the slight increase in signed contracts in recent months. However, there is still a wide range of opinions within the industry regarding the market outlook for next year. A recent survey covering 9 market analysts shows a range of predictions for the growth of existing home sales from 1.7% to 14%, with the most optimistic outlook also coming from NAR's Lawrence Yun. Looking at different regions, the NAR report shows that the volume of signed contracts in the four major regions of the U.S. recorded growth in November, reaching yearly highs. The Western region saw the largest increase, followed by the Southern region, which is also the largest housing transaction market in the U.S. Industry insiders point out that the pending home sales of existing homes are often seen as a leading indicator of existing home sales, as houses typically complete signing of contracts one to two months before the formal transaction. This round of signing increase may provide positive signals for the trend of existing home sales in the coming months.