Roughly 53,000 home purchase agreements were canceled in September, according to a data report from Redfin. The level of cancelations equals 15% of homes that went under contract last month, up from 13.6% in September 2024.
Florida and Texas led the nation with homebuyers who changed their minds. Tampa had September’s highest cancellation rate with 20.1% of home-purchase agreements being nixed, up from 17.7% a year earlier. San Antonio ranked second in this category with 19% of deals being called off, up from 16.8%. Fort Worth, Dallas, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and Jacksonville were also among the metros where cancellations were most common. Redfin attributed higher cancelation levels in these markets due to rising home costs and insurance premiums, along with growing climate risks and economic uncertainty.
“I’m seeing a lot of buyer’s remorse,” said Jo Chavez, a Redfin Premier agent in Kansas City, Missouri. “Buyers make an offer, then they start worrying they could have found a better deal or a better home because there are more home sellers than buyers in the market. Some other buyers are backing out because they’re concerned about job security.”
At the other end of the spectrum, San Francisco, New York’s Nassau County (Long Island) and San Jose had the lowest shares of contract cancellations in September, under 7% each. Other expensive cities, including Seattle, New York City and Boston, were also among the major metros canceled contracts were least common.
Redfin based its research on an analysis of MLS pending-sales data.
DROP THOSE PRICES!!!!!!!!!!!!! CUT THOSE PROPERTY TAXES!!!!!!!!!
Don’t forget insurance costs.
Unlike in other regions, Realtors in the San Francisco Bay Area provide home and pest inspections upfront to avoid unpleasant surprises and cancellations.