US Delistings Jump as Sellers Pull Homes Rather Than Accept Lower Prices

On Tuesday, Redfin reported that nearly 85,000 US home sellers took their properties off the market in September, up 28% from a year earlier and the highest level for the month in eight years.

Redfin compares delistings on a year-over-year basis due to strong seasonality, which typically peaks in winter. The brokerage noted that delistings have been rising since spring 2024, with year-over-year growth reaching 39% in June. Delistings also surged in 2022, when mortgage rates began climbing from pandemic-era lows and demand softened.

Redfin cited several factors behind the latest increase:

• About 70% of listings were considered “stale” in September (i.e., on the market for at least 60 days). The typical delisted home had been listed for 100 days before the seller withdrew it.
• Slow demand—driven by elevated mortgage rates, high prices, and broader economic uncertainty—has left more homes sitting on the market.
• Roughly 15% of delisted homes were at risk of selling at a loss, the highest share in five years.
• Some sellers opted to rent out their homes rather than accept prices they viewed as too low.
• Active listings rose 8% year-over-year in September to their highest level for that month since 2019. When there are more homes on the market, there are more homes being taken off the market.

Redfin said delistings are rising faster than overall supply. Nationwide, 5.5% of listings were removed in September, up from 4.8% a year earlier and the highest share since at least 2016.

“That increase is bigger than it looks on paper; it represents a fairly significant jump in delistings from last year,” said Asad Khan, a senior economist at Redfin. “More sellers are giving up because their homes have been sitting on the market for a long time, and they don’t want to or can’t afford to settle on accepting a low price.”