The number of homes under contract grew last month, as homebuyers defied expectations in the high interest rate environment.

There was a 1.1% increase in the Pending Home Sales Index for September, with the Northeast, Midwest, and South recording monthly gains in transactions and the West experiencing a loss.

The growth in homes under contract is an about-face from the 1.5% downturn economists expected. Despite the surprise uptick, year-over-year, transactions declined 11% across the country. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Mortgage rates remain at the highest levels in 20 years, resulting in historically low෴ pending contracts, according to the latest news fro♔m the National Association of Realtors.

Moody's Analytics Economist Shandor Whitcher calculated that pending home sales are still trending down, based on a three-month moving average.

"Weakness in this segment is not unexpected," he wrote in his analysis. "Housing 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:affordability has deterior💯ated as rising mortgage rates and stubbornly high house prices have pushed it to its lowest level in nearly four decades."

Thꦿe outlook for home sales is dependent on mortgage rates as the new year approaches.

The National Association of Realtors expects the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:30-year fixed mortgage rate will average 6.9% for this year and decrease to an average of 6.3% next year, causing existing home sales to end the year 17.5% lower than the year prior.

Moody's predicts home sales will remain low through the end of the year but will slowly recover starting next year.

"The coming months will prove challenging for the housing market," Whitcher wrote.