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As a well-known inflation-proof asset, real estate has been highly sought-after for most of the last two years. But things seem to be shifting.

According to a new report from real estate brokerage Redfin, around 60,000 home-purchase agreements in the U.S. fell through last month. That equates to 14.9% of all homes that went under contract in June.

To put things in perspective, cancellations were at 12.7% in May 2022 and 11.2% in June 2021.

In fact, 14.9% was the highest cancellation rate since early 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak brought real estate transactions to a near dead stop.

What’s behind the sudden change in home buying behavior? Let’s take a look.

Less competition

You’ve probably heard of some house in your neighborhood getting sold for well over its asking price because of multiple offers.

When there are competing offers, people don’t want their deals to slip away.

But when there’s no competition, things can work differently.