The surge in delistings has been most pronounced in the South and West, where sellers have shown the least willingness to negotiate
The housing market’s summer story was not about swelling inventory, but about the rise in homes being pulled from the market. Realtor.com's July data revealed that delistings jumped 57% year-over-year, outpacing the growth in active listings and marking a decisive turn in seller behavior.
For the first time in years, more homes exited the market unsold than were added, a reversal that has left industry professionals recalibrating their expectations for the rest of 2025.
Sellers step back as market momentum fades
Market participants have watched as the inventory of homes for sale grew for the 22nd consecutive month, up 20.9% year-over-year and exceeding 1 million active listings for the fourth straight month. However, the pace of this growth has slowed to 20.9% in August from 31.5% in May.
“The gap to pre-pandemic inventory levels actually widened to 14.3%, signaling a stalling recovery,” said Jake Krimmel, housing economist at Realtor.com.
The surge in delistings has been most pronounced in the South and West, where sellers have shown the least willingness to negotiate. Charlotte-based broker Rebecca Richardson also said that homes were staying on the market for longer because some sellers weren’t prepared to compromise or meet buyers halfway in the purchase process.
“I still think we’re seeing some sellers not willing to accept the reality check that their realtors are giving them. This isn’t ’21. This isn’t ’22. You can’t just throw your house on the market and say, ‘Take it or leave it,’” Richardson told Mortgage Professional America last month.
In Miami, for every 100 new listings in July, 57 homes were delisted, down only slightly from June’s 59. Phoenix, Riverside, and Tucson also saw delisting-to-listing ratios climb, with the metric more than doubling in several major metros since May.
Regional divides and price stagnation
While buyers in the West and South found more options, they also encountered the sharpest price cuts and the highest rates of homes being withdrawn. The Northeast and Midwest, meanwhile, remained tighter, with fewer price reductions and more balanced conditions.
The national median list price held steady at $429,990, unchanged from last year and down 2.2% month-over-month. “Affordability remains stretched, and 20.3% of listings had price cuts in August,” Krimmel said.
Pending home sales fell 1.3% year-over-year, marking the eighth consecutive month of annual declines. Homes lingered on the market for a median of 60 days, seven days longer than last August, and above pre-pandemic norms for the second month running.
The spike in delistings has become the defining feature of the summer market, signaling a shift in seller strategy. As the market heads into fall, the divergence between regions is likely to widen.
