Homebuyers in the U.S. canceled about 40,000 purchase agreements during the month of December, which represents 16.3 percent of homes that went under contract that month — a record for any December dating back to at least 2017.
In December 2024, 14.9 percent of all home purchase agreements were canceled.
The analysis by Redfin is based on MLS pending sales data, for which some properties could have gone under contract in months earlier than December.
The news arrives even as the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate hit 6.09 percent this week, its lowest level in three years.
With the national market in solid buyer’s market territory, buyers’ advantage over sellers may be yielding more contract cancellations.
“High housing costs and rising inventory have made homebuyers more selective,” Chen Zhao, head of economics research at Redfin, said in the company’s report. “Homesellers outnumber buyers by a record margin, meaning the buyers who are in the market have options and may walk away if they believe they can find a better or more affordable home.”
Redfin pointed out that it’s not uncommon for buyers to back out of a deal following an inspection by using the inspection contingency — even if they have an altogether different reason for backing out.
Atlanta saw the highest rate of home contract cancellations at 22.5 percent in December, which was up from 19.6 percent in November, according to Redfin. Sellers now outnumber buyers in the southern market by over 80 percent.
After Atlanta, top major metro areas where contracts were canceled last month include Jacksonville, Florida (20.6 percent contracts canceled); San Antonio, Texas (20.6 percent); Cleveland, Ohio (20.2 percent); and Tampa, Florida (19.4 percent).
Forty-seven out of the 50 most populous metros in the U.S. had enough data to be included in the report.
Contract cancellations were least common in coastal hot spots like Nassau County, New York (3.8 percent contract cancellations); San Francisco, California (4.2 percent); San Jose, California (8.9 percent); and New York, New York (10.5 percent).
San Jose actually saw the greatest increase in contract cancellations year over year, rising by 6.8 percentage points, even while remaining relatively low overall. The Bay Area had seen a cooldown in the years following the pandemic, but saw a resurgence at the end of 2025, Redfin noted, and is now considered balanced.
Contract cancellations declined the most in Detroit, Michigan (-8 percentage points); Warren, Michigan (-2.8 percentage points); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2.3 percentage points); Los Angeles, California (-1.1 percentage points) and Nassau County, New York (-0.7 percentage points).
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