Through Jeroslyn JoVonn
January 31, 2026
New data shows a record number of home purchase cancellations occurred in December, with Atlanta, Jacksonville and San Antonio seeing the highest rates.
New data shows that a record number of US home purchase agreements were canceled in December 2025, marking the highest number of cancellations in December since 2017. Homebuyers are canceling deals in record numbers.
New Redfin data show that About 40,000 U.S. home purchase agreements were canceled in December, representing 16.3% of homes under contract, up from 14.9% a year earlier and the highest December rate since 2017. Cancellations were highest in Atlanta (22.5%), Jacksonville (20.6%) and San Antonio (20.6%), and lowest in Nassau County (3.8%), San Francisco (4.2%) and San Francisco. Jose (8.9%).
The data underlines the weak housing market of 2025, which saw even fewer home sales than 2024, the lowest level on record since 1995. Experts cite high mortgage rates and home prices, sellers are balking at lower expectations after missing the market peak, and buyers are wary of the economy and long-term commitments.
“High housing costs and rising inventories have made homebuyers more selective,” said Chen Zhao, head of economic research at Redfin. “The number of home sellers is exceeding the number of buyers by a record margin, meaning the buyers in the market have options and may walk away if they think they can find a better or more affordable home.”
Buyers often use inspection contingencies to back out of deals, sometimes citing structural problems, even if the real reason is that mortgage payments are too high. Redfin‘s data mirrors USA today’s November surveythat found According to Realtor.com, sellers were also taking listings off the market at a rate 50% higher than last year.
“Buyers and sellers are really far apart,” says Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com, along with Joan Rogers, associate principal broker at Windermere Realty Trust in Portland, Oregon, describing it as a “deadlock market where sellers still feel like it should be a seller’s market, and buyers feel like it should be a buyer’s market. As a result, it’s nobody’s market.”
The positive for buyers is that mortgage payments have recently fallen due to lower interest rates, and home price growth is slowing. Redfin economists predict affordability will improve by 2026 as wages exceed housing costs.
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