Home Sellers Pull Listings at Record Speed in Nearly 10 Years

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The tables have turned in the housing market, with buyers now possessing more influence, yet convincing homeowners to accept low offers remains a challenge.

According to a recent analysis by Redfin, nearly 85,000 sellers withdrew their properties from the market in September. This marks a 28% increase compared to the previous year and represents the highest number of delistings for that month in eight years.

This trend is largely due to sluggish demand, causing many homes to linger unsold for extended periods. Redfin reported that in September, 70% of properties had been listed for at least 60 days, with the average delisted home spending around 100 days on the market.

The rise in delistings significantly contributes to the stability of home prices, even amidst a greater supply and continued weak demand—factors that typically drive prices down.

“Many homes have a sticker price higher than buyers are willing to pay, but many sellers are unwilling to negotiate,” Asad Khan, senior economist at Redfin, said in the report.

The reluctance to negotiate comes at a time when there are roughly half a million more sellers than buyers — a sharp turn from the pandemic market when owners called the shots and buyers were throwing elbows in bidding wars.

The disconnect between expectations and reality appears to be widest among those who bought recently. Nearly half of September’s delistings (47%) came from owners who purchased within the last five years.

“Many homeowners who bought during the pandemic demand frenzy still expect sky-high prices,” Khan said. “They remember a seller’s market, so they’re hesitant to yield to buyers who want to negotiate the price down and/or ask for concessions.”

Those who bought between 2020 and 2022 are also more likely to be sitting on ultra-low mortgage rates, making it even harder to walk away.

But the so-called lock-in effect is starting to ease — and in some markets, the standoff between buyers and sellers is finally relieving price pressures, particularly in the Sun Belt.

The share of stale listings, homes sitting for at least 60 days, was highest in Texas and Florida, led by Miami (85%), Fort Lauderdale (85%) and Austin (83%) — with San Antonio (81%) and Dallas (77%) also near the top of the list.

Fort Lauderdale, San Antonio and Dallas have all seen the typical sale price come down from a year ago, while prices in Miami remain flat, Redfin data shows.

Nationwide, home prices ticked up 1.3% year over year in September, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, the weakest growth since mid-2023.

Redfin counted a home as “delisted” if it went off the market for more than 31 days without selling or going under contract as “pending” or “contingent.”