December pending home sales drop to lowest point in five years, despite much lower interest rates

House hunters signed 2.2 percent fewer contracts to buy existing homes in December, according to the National Association of Realtors. These so-called pending sales are a future indicator of closings in one to two months. The Realtors' pending home sales index was also down a dramatic 9.8 percent compared with December 2017, marking 12 straight months of annual declines.