The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its pending home sales figures for the U.S. on Thursday. Pending home sales in the U.S. slid 2.3% in September, missing expectations for a 1.0% gain, after a 1.4% drop in August.

The decline was partly lead by a drop in the Northeast.

"There continues to be a dearth of available listings in the lower end of the market for first-time buyers, and realtors in many areas are reporting stronger competition than what's normal this time of year because of stubbornly-low inventory conditions. Additionally, the rockiness in the financial markets at the end of the summer and signs of a slowing U.S. economy may be causing some prospective buyers to take a wait-and-see approach," the NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun said.