According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pending home sales in the US slumped 4.6 percent in September due primarily to sharp declines in the Northeast. Indeed, demand for homes remains extremely weak as the credit crunch leaves mortgages tough to get and borrowing costs persistently high. Considering that labor market conditions are deteriorating rapidly - as indicated by the jump in the US unemployment rate to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent - there is little hope for home sales to recover anytime soon, as employment concerns are sure to weigh heavily upon consumer sentiment.