Redfin data showed nearly one in seven US home purchases collapsed in March as buyers balked at costs
More than 50,000 US home‑purchase agreements collapsed in March, the latest sign that even committed buyers have been unsettled by high borrowing costs and a fragile economic backdrop.
Real estate giant Redfin reported that 13.4% of homes that went under contract in March fell out of escrow. That was up from 12.5% a year earlier. It also tied with 2023 for the highest March share on record, excluding the first pandemic shock in 2020.
Cancellations in February already reached 13.7% of contracts – the highest February rate since Redfin’s records began in 2017 – while December saw 16.3% of deals unravel, a record for that month.
Buyers’ market tested resolve of nervous purchasers
In San Antonio, 18.7% of pending sales fell through in March, the highest share among the major US metros Redfin tracked.
Orlando and Riverside both saw 18.1% of deals collapse, while Atlanta and Las Vegas followed closely at 18.0% and 17.8% respectively – a cluster of deep buyer’s markets where purchasers have ample alternatives and can walk away with relative ease.
On the other hand, Nassau County posted the lowest cancellation rate in the sample, at just 3.5% of contracts falling apart.
Montgomery County and Milwaukee also saw comparatively few failed deals, with cancellation shares of 5.7% and 6.1%, underscoring their status as rare seller’s markets where walking away could mean losing a scarce opportunity.
Separate Redfin research estimated there were roughly 630,000 more home sellers than buyers nationwide in recent months – the largest gap on record and a clear shift toward buyer leverage.
That imbalance made it easier for purchasers to insist on inspection and financing contingencies, and to walk away if defects surfaced or a better option appeared.
High costs and uncertainty fed a cautious, data‑driven mindset
The National Association of Realtors and Redfin both recorded higher cancellation shares in 2025 compared with prior years, attributing the trend to unexpected costs, employment worries and low appraisals that undermined financing.
Geopolitical tensions, including recent conflict in the Middle East that helped push up bond yields and mortgage rates, also weighed on sentiment.
“Buyers are getting cold feet,” said Patricia Ammann, a Redfin Premier agent in Arlington, Va.
“There have been layoffs, ups and downs in the market and geopolitical turmoil–and on top of all that, housing costs are still high. Because buyers are considering committing to spending so much money in uncertain times, they’re extremely picky, which is leading some of them to back out before a deal closes.”
A separate Redfin survey, conducted March 9–10 among 1,005 US adults, found that 36% of workers were delaying or canceling plans for a major purchase due to job security.
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