# Home contract signings drop 4.7% from last year

> Home contract signings fall 4.7% year-over-year as mortgage rates rise.
- Title: Home contract signings drop 4.7% from last year | Shortify
- Summary: Home contract signings fall 4.7% year-over-year as mortgage rates rise. Home contract signings dropped 4.7% from last year due to higher mortgage rates.
- Keywords: home contract signings, mortgage rates, national association of realtors, pending home sales, lawrence yun, housing market, business, finance, Home, contract, signings, drop
- Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/home-contract-signings-drop-47-from-last-year-amid-higher-mortgage-rates-141613199.html
- Published: 2026-09-17T14:16:13+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: home contract signings, mortgage rates, national association of realtors, pending home sales, lawrence yun, housing market, business, finance
## Home contract signings
Pending home sales climbed 0.3% in August from July but are down 4.7% from last year.
## Mortgage rates rise
Mortgage rates rose over the summer to end August at 6.7% amid concerns about US national debt and the Iran War.
## Lawrence Yun's statement
Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said buyers entered contracts despite higher mortgage rates but the market remains sluggish.

> Buyers steadily entered into contracts in August even though mortgage rates increased.
## Year-over-year decline
Contract activity declined year over year in all regions, with signings rising in the South and West in August.
## Market slowdown
High mortgage rates and elevated prices have slowed home buying and selling to a crawl, with contract signings down 30% from pre-pandemic levels.
## What happens next
Most housing market watchers expect sales to remain muted as mortgage rates stay above 7% for the rest of the year.
## Key takeaway

Home contract signings dropped 4.7% from last year due to higher mortgage rates.