Homebuyers canceling purchase agreements at record rate

Potential homebuyers are canceling their purchase agreements at a record rate

According to Redfin with their July 2025 data, showing more than 15% of homes that were under contract saw the buyer back out

Redfin attributes the record high to higher home prices, higher mortgage rates, and economic uncertainty

Buyers have more options and can pull their offer for several reasons

In San Antonio, Texas, 22.7% of people who agreed to buy a home in July ended up canceling their contracts

That's nearly one in four deals that fell through. Other cities with high cancellation rates were Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Atlanta and Tampa

Florida and Texas have seen a large supply of new homes, which gives buyers more options and flexibility

As a result, Redfin says some buyers feel comfortable canceling deals if they think they can find a better home

Now, in Florida specifically, buyers are also walking away due to fears about natural disasters like hurricanes and rising costs for home insurance and HOA fees, which make owning a home more expensive

In places like Nassau County, New York and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, very few homebuyers canceled their purchase agreements as low as 5.1 percent in Nassau

Now these areas had the lowest rates of canceled home deals among the cities Redfin yzed The housing market is beginning to change Mortgage rates are decreasing which might encourage more buyers

to re-enter the market. The Fed is expected to announce a rate cut in mid-September

Chen Zhao, head of economics research at Redfin, says we're already seeing those decreased rates

So the Fed is widely expected to cut their policy rate on September 17th when they meet

That rate cut has largely been priced in already. So that means that when they make that cut, mortgage rates won't fall any further unless that they signal even faster or more rate cuts in the future compared to what markets have priced in

But markets are expecting several cuts this year and several cuts next year already

But that expectation of these cuts that are coming is what has allowed mortgage rates to drop a little bit already from that 6.8 range down to about 6.5 right now

So it's not a ton of relief for home buyers, but it is meaningful relief

At the same time, fewer homes could be for sale, which could make buyers feel more pressured to act quickly before options run out

Now, together, these shifts could lead to more competition and fewer canceled deals

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Lauren Keenan. If you want more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit san.com