LOS ANGELES (AP) — New data show an increase in home purchase agreements falling through before they’re finalized.

Approximately 6 percent of pending contracts to buy a home were canceled in May, down from 7 percent in April, but up from 5 percent in May last year, according to data from National Association of Realtors.

May is the third consecutive month with an annual increase in pending home sales cancellations.

A separate analysis of housing data by Redfin found that 14.6 percent of all pending sales in May fell out of contract, up from 14 percent in May last year and the highest cancellation percentage for the month of May going back to at least 2017.

The trend underscores how even home shoppers who manage to ink a deal with a seller can end up having to back out because of unexpected costs, changes in their credit, employment or financial status, or a low appraisal, among other reasons.

“Stock market fluctuations, restrained consumer confidence and broader economic and geopolitical uncertainties may be leading to higher-than-normal cancellations rates in recent months,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

The housing market remains in a sales slump going back to 2022, as elevated mortgage rates and rising home prices nationally keep pushing the cost of homeownership well beyond what many would-be homebuyers can afford.

While sales of previously occupied homes in May remained at the slowest pace since 2009, pending home sales rose 1.8 percent from the previous month and increased 1.1 from May last year, NAR said last week.

The number of homes sold in central Ohio is down 1.8 percent so far this year compared to the first five months of 2024, according to the latest figures from Columbus Realtors.

The number of homes sold in May was nearly the same as a year ago — sales were down 0.1 percent from 2,839 homes sold in May 2024 to 2,835 homes sold this May.

A home sale is listed as pending when the purchase contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed. There’s usually a month or two lag between a contract signing and when the sale is finalized, which makes pending home sales a bellwether for future completed home sales.

A snapshot by Redfin of pending home sales for the four weeks that ended June 22, shows they fell 2.3 percent from a year earlier, the biggest drop in three months.

Economists at mortgage buyer Fannie Mae last week revised their outlook for existing home sales, citing expectations that the average rate on a 30-year mortgage will end this year at 6.5 percent.

Fannie Mae now expects existing home sales will rise 2 percent this year to 4.14 million. The economists’ previously forecast the sale of 4.24 million homes. Still, they project home sales will jump 9.5 percent in 2026 on the back of mortgage rates easing to 6.1 percent.