If you’ve been thinking about selling, you’ve probably seen plenty of headlines suggesting buyers have just about disappeared. But there’s a big difference between a slow market and a stalled one.
Yes, mortgage rates are still higher than most people would like. Homes aren’t selling as fast as they were. And every week seems to bring another headline about buyers sitting on the sidelines. But here’s what you haven’t heard.
Despite everything going on, buyer demand has been remarkably resilient.
In fact, more sellers are getting to put up the “pending sale” sign now than during the last two years. What’s even more surprising is that they’re doing it at a time of year when activity usually starts to slow down.
And if you’re thinking about selling, that’s a trend worth paying attention to.
Buyers Are More Active Than You Think
One of the best ways to measure buyer demand is by looking at pending home sales. Those are homes that have gone under contract but haven’t closed yet. Think of them as a real-time pulse check on the market and whether buyers are still buying.
HousingWire Data shows more homes are going under contract than at the same time the past 2 years (see graph below):

HousingWire data shows single-family pending home sales in 2026 are tracking significantly higher than both 2024 and 2025.