Home sales cancelled at near-record pace in April

Home sales transactions were cancelled at a near-record rate in April, another likely side effect of uncertainty enhanced by President Trump's tariff announcement earlier in the month, Redfin said.

Approximately 56,000 signed purchase agreements were withdrawn during the month, which equates to a 14.3% rate. This is up from 13.5% one year ago and is the worst April since record-keeping started in 2017 for cancellations, with the exception of April 2020, the first month the Covid pandemic impacted the country.

The data comes from a Redfin analysis of multiple listing service information and only covers April. Trends are seasonal, the report noted, as the end of the year typically sees higher cancellation rates, while the opposite is true for the spring.

It is not just economic uncertainty driving the change. The improved situation in the number of for-sale listings means some buyers are feeling they can do better than the property they contractually agreed to purchase, Redfin said.

However, "sticker shock" from the combination of higher mortgage rates and increased home prices is also causing some to have second thoughts.

Someone's buyer remorse is another person's opportunity to get a house, one agent noted.

"Two of my buyers have won deals this way — where the previous buyer canceled and then we wrote an offer before the home was even back on the market, and the seller accepted," Alison Williams, a Redfin agent in Sacramento, California, said in a press release. 

"It's a tactic that has been working really well, especially when it's a home my client was already interested in. I will circle back with the listing agent to see if the other buyer is wavering."

What cities have the most cancellations

Of the 10 largest metro areas with the highest cancellation rates, five are in Florida and two in Texas, Fort Worth at 18.7% and San Antonio, 18.2%.

Atlanta had the highest rate of pending home sales falling through in April at 20%. The Florida markets are Orlando, 19.4%; Tampa, 19.1%; Miami,18.9%; Fort Lauderdale, 18.9%; and Jacksonville, 18.4%.

The other cities in the top 10 are Riverside, California, 19.1%, and Las Vegas, 18.6%.

Ironically, Jacksonville was one of the 10 metros where cancellation rates declined, down by 1.3 percentage points from last April; only Detroit had a larger decline at 3 percentage points.

Anaheim, California, had the largest year-over-year gain, at 3.1 percentage points.

The situation around property values is likely to change in the second half of the year, Redfin said.

What is happening with home values in 2025

The brokerage is predicting flat home price growth for the third quarter and a 1% decline for the three months at the end of the year, as the market shifts to the buyer's side.

Redfin's own data has existing home sales down 1.1% annually, compared with 0.5% according to the National Association of Realtors.

Meanwhile, total inventory rose 16.7% year over year to its highest mark in five years, Redfin said.

New listings rose 8.4% year over year to their highest in nearly three years during the four weeks ending May 18, a separate Redfin report noted. During the period, pending sales fell 2.2%. This is now the lowest level for this time of year since the real estate brokerage started keeping records in 2015.

"My advice to homeowners: if you're planning to sell in the next year or two, do it now because we don't know what's going to happen with home values or the larger economy," Hazel Shakur, a Redfin agent in Maryland, said in a press release. 

"Buyers should know that because of the uncertainty in the air, they may be able to get a home for under asking price, or get concessions from the seller."