Pending home sales slipped 3.5% to an index reading of 96.6 in December after an unrevised 7.3% increase to 100.1 in November, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 1.0% decrease for the index.
Year over year, the pending homes sales index is up 5.6% from last December, when the index was 91.5.