Realtors are encountering an increasing number of indecisive buyers as the current real estate market becomes more challenging.
According to a report from Redfin released on Tuesday, nearly 56,000 home purchase agreements were canceled in June, representing 15% of all homes that entered contract during that month. This marks the highest percentage ever recorded for June by the real estate platform.
Julie Zubiate, a Redfin Premier agent in the San Francisco Bay Area, attributed this rise in last-minute cancellations to buyers becoming more selective in an expensive market. “They are backing out due to minor issues because the monthly costs associated with buying a home today are just too high to ignore not getting everything on their must-have list,” she stated.
Rafael Corrales, another Redfin agent based in Miami, reported experiencing significant disruptions, including last-minute deal cancellations over trivial matters. Last month, Miami saw around 2,500 home purchases canceled, amounting to about 17.6% of homes under contract in June. He emphasized that the primary concern is affordability.
The median sale price of homes reached an all-time high of $442,525 in June, while the average rate for a 30-year mortgage stood at 6.92%. In addition to high property prices and mortgage rates, prospective buyers are also facing burdens from insurance, property taxes, HOA fees, and other ownership costs, all of which have been aggravated by inflation.
This ongoing affordability crisis across the nation has led to a significant downturn in home sales, marking the largest decline in eight months, as per Redfin’s findings. Monthly home sales fell by 0.5% in June, the steepest drop since October 2023. Year-over-year, home sales decreased by 1.1% and were 21.5% lower than pre-pandemic figures.