Skip to content

EconomyBreaking

Pending home sales fall 7.3% in September to record low as mortgage rates rise

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 6 outlets, mostly center (67%).

7 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

For Sale real estate sign with agent contact details in front of a residential building.
Image via MarketWatchHow images are chosenReport this image

Pending home sales in the United States fell 7.3% in September, the National Association of Realtors reported, to the lowest level since its index began in 2001. CNBC, MarketWatch and the Financial Times report the drop and link it to rising mortgage rates, with the average 30-year rate above 7%. Breitbart reports that housing starts fell 5.2% in September, according to the Commerce Department, and that home builder confidence hit its lowest level in more than 14 years. Breitbart says the figures show rising rates taking a heavy toll on residential real estate. Pending sales were 11.3% lower than a year earlier.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Pending home sales fell 7.3% in September to the lowest level since the index began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors.

    Reported byCenter2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    MarketWatch, Financial Times
    Far Right
    Breitbart News

  2. Coverage links the drop to the average 30-year mortgage rate rising above 7%.

    Reported byCenter2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    MarketWatch, Financial Times
    Far Right
    Breitbart News

  3. Housing starts fell 5.2% in September to 1.221 million homes at an annual rate, according to the Commerce Department.

    One outletBreitbart News· Far Right

  4. Home builder confidence fell to its lowest level in more than 14 years, according to a report released on the Monday before the sales data.

    One outletBreitbart News· Far Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

All four outlets report pending home sales fell 7.3% in September to a record low as mortgage rates rose. Center headlines describe a deep freeze in housing, while Breitbart adds falling housing starts and says the slump worsened.

  • the left

    No coverage yet

    No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the center

    4 outlets

    Center headlines lead with the record low in pending sales and tie it to mortgage rates above 7%, while CNBC frames the month as a deep freeze in housing.

    US pending home sales fall to record low as mortgage rates surge
    Financial TimesCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Breitbart, the only right-side outlet in this set, frames the figures as a worsening slump driven by higher rates, using words such as tumbling and far worse than.

    Housing Slump Worsens Amid Higher Rates
    Breitbart NewsFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left

    Has not covered this story.

  • Center3

    bleakharsh tollbuyers flee

  • Right1

    tumbling

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    bleakMore neutral: weaker than expected

    Judges the figures as bleak rather than stating what they show.

    New data on the housing market's performance in September is bleak, with sales, construction and sentiment all falling more than expected.

    Used byCNBC (Center)

  • Sensational language

    harsh tollMore neutral: reduced sales

    Describes the effect of rising rates with a judgemental phrase when the decline itself is the reported fact.

    Fast-rising mortgage rates in September took a harsh toll on the housing market, according to new monthly data released today.

    Used byCNBC (Center)

  • Loaded verb

    buyers fleeMore neutral: buyers pull back

    Describes buyers reducing contract signings as fleeing, which implies panic rather than a decision to wait.

    Pending home sales sink to 25-year low as buyers flee high mortgage rates

    Used byMarketWatch (Center)

  • Loaded verb

    tumblingMore neutral: falling

    The word adds a sense of collapse beyond the reported decline in construction figures.

    …mortgage rates drove pending home sales to a record low and sent home construction tumbling, according to reports released Tuesday.

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

0 outlets

No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the center

4 outlets

Leads with

  • record low in pending home sales
  • mortgage rates above 7%
  • 7.3% monthly drop

Leaves out

  • 14-year low in home builder confidence

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 4 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • worsening housing slump
  • rising mortgage rates as cause
  • falling construction and builder confidence
See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Epoch TimesFar Right

    Pending Home Sales Plunge to Record Low as Mortgage Rates Surge: NAR

    Contract signings fell 7.3 percent in September to their lowest level since 2001.

    Read at The Epoch Times (opens in a new tab)
  • Breitbart NewsFar Right

    Housing Slump Worsens Amid Higher Rates

    The American housing market deteriorated sharply in September as rising mortgage rates drove pending home sales to a record low and sent home construction Loaded verb“tumbling”The word adds a sense of collapse beyond the reported decline in construction figures.More neutral: fallingDisagree with this highlight?, according to reports released Tuesday. The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending

    Read at Breitbart News (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Center

    First to report

    CNBC, Oct 20, 10:00 AM EDT

  • Right

    1 hr 49 min later

    Its first report, Oct 20, 11:49 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. CNBCCenterOct 20, 10:00 AM EDT
  2. MarketWatchCenterOct 20, 10:06 AM EDT
  3. Financial TimesCenterOct 20, 10:39 AM EDT
  4. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 20, 11:49 AM EDT
  5. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 20, 4:32 PM EDT
  6. NewsweekCenterOct 20, 5:57 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page