- 13.4% of home-sale agreements that went under contract in March were canceled. House hunters are getting cold feet as costs stay high and economic uncertainty is in the air.
- Contract cancellations are most common in big-time buyer’s markets like San Antonio and Orlando, where home searchers have a lot of options.
- They’re least common in Nassau County, Montgomery County and Milwaukee–three of just five seller’s markets in the U.S.
Nearly 53,000 U.S. home-sale agreements fell through in March, equal to 13.4% of homes that went under contract that month–up from 12.5% a year earlier. That’s tied with 2023 as the highest March share on record aside from 2020, when the uncertainty surrounding the start of the pandemic caused many buyers to back out of deals.
This is based on a Redfin analysis of MLS pending-sales data. The data is seasonal; typically, there’s a higher share of cancellations at the end of the year and a lower share in the spring. That’s why we compare this March to past Marchs. Please note: Homes that fell out of contract during a given month didn’t necessarily go under contract that same month. This data is subject to revision.
There are several reasons home-purchase agreements are falling apart at a higher rate than usual for this time of year:
- It’s a buyer’s market. There are 600,000 more home sellers than buyers in the U.S. housing market. That gives buyers negotiating power when they’re entering into a home-purchase agreement with sellers, and it makes it easier for buyers to include contingencies like the inspection contingency, which allows buyers to back out during a certain period, knowing they have plenty of other options. They may cancel a deal because an issue comes up that they don’t want to repair, because they find a house they like better, or because they simply changed their mind.
- Housing costs are high. Mortgage rates jumped in March, and home-sale prices are rising. Some buyers back out after going under contract when they take a deeper look at their future monthly payments, closing costs and other associated payments.
- Economic uncertainty. The Iran war is causing turmoil in financial markets and pushing mortgage rates up. It’s also contributing to an air of financial uncertainty for buyers, some of whom are changing their minds about making major purchases as a result.
“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.”
Contract Cancellations Are Most Common in San Antonio and Other Major Buyer’s Markets
In San Antonio, 18.7% of home-purchase agreements were canceled in March, the highest share of the 43 major U.S. metros Redfin analyzed. It’s followed by four other Sun Belt metros: Orlando, FL (18.1%), Riverside, CA (18.1%), Atlanta (18%) and Las Vegas (17.8%).
All five of those are big-time buyer’s markets. In San Antonio, for instance, there are more than twice as many sellers as buyers. That allows buyers to back out of one deal and fairly easily move on to the next one.
Contract cancellations are least common in Nassau County, NY, where just 3.5% of deals fell through in March, the lowest share among the metros Redfin analyzed. Next are Montgomery County, PA (5.7%), Milwaukee (6.1%), New York (7.4%) and Seattle (8.5%).
Nassau County, Montgomery County and Milwaukee are three of just five seller’s markets in the U.S. Buyers in those places are rarely backing out because if they do, it may be tough to find another home.
Cancellations Increased Most in Riverside and Atlanta
Contract cancellations rose most in Riverside, to 18.1% in March from 15.1% a year earlier. Next come Atlanta, where 18% of contracts were cancelled, up from 15.3%, and Columbus, OH (14.8%, up from 12.2%).
Cancellations declined in 10 metro areas. The biggest decline was in Miami, where 14.5% of homebuying agreements were canceled, down from 16.1%. Next come Cleveland (14%, down from 15.1%), Nassau County (3.5%, down from 4.4%), Milwaukee (6.1%, down from 7%) and Fort Worth, TX (16.2%, down from 17.1%).
| Metro-Level Summary: Canceled Home-Purchase Agreements, March 2026
43 of the most populous U.S. metro areas Redfin analyzed the 50 most populous U.S. metros and included the 43 with sufficient data |
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| U.S. metro area | March 2026: Pending sales that fell out of contract, as % of overall pending sales | March 2025: Pending sales that fell out of contract, as % of overall pending sales |
| Anaheim, CA | 12.6% | 12.6% |
| Atlanta, GA | 18.0% | 15.3% |
| Austin, TX | 12.5% | 12.9% |
| Baltimore, MD | 11.5% | 11.1% |
| Boston, MA | 9.5% | 7.3% |
| Chicago, IL | 12.5% | 11.4% |
| Cincinnati, OH | 13.5% | 12.2% |
| Cleveland, OH | 14.0% | 15.1% |
| Columbus, OH | 14.8% | 12.2% |
| Dallas, TX | 14.4% | 14.6% |
| Denver, CO | 14.5% | 13.6% |
| Detroit, MI | 14.5% | 14.9% |
| Fort Worth, TX | 16.2% | 17.1% |
| Houston, TX | 15.3% | 13.3% |
| Indianapolis, IN | 12.7% | 13.0% |
| Jacksonville, FL | 17.4% | 16.4% |
| Las Vegas, NV | 17.8% | 15.7% |
| Los Angeles, CA | 15.1% | 13.8% |
| Miami, FL | 14.5% | 16.1% |
| Milwaukee, WI | 6.1% | 7.0% |
| Minneapolis, MN | 9.2% | 7.5% |
| Montgomery County, PA | 5.7% | 5.6% |
| Nashville, TN | 12.8% | 11.6% |
| Nassau County, NY | 3.5% | 4.4% |
| New Brunswick, NJ | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| New York, NY | 7.4% | 7.3% |
| Newark, NJ | 9.3% | 8.7% |
| Orlando, FL | 18.1% | 17.8% |
| Philadelphia, PA | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| Phoenix, AZ | 16.4% | 15.2% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 12.9% | 12.3% |
| Portland, OR | 13.3% | 12.8% |
| Providence, RI | 10.1% | 7.6% |
| Riverside, CA | 18.1% | 15.1% |
| Sacramento, CA | 13.8% | 13.1% |
| San Antonio, TX | 18.7% | 16.8% |
| San Diego, CA | 14.9% | 14.4% |
| Seattle, WA | 8.5% | 8.3% |
| Tampa, FL | 17.2% | 16.9% |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 13.8% | 12.1% |
| Warren, MI | 11.1% | 10.5% |
| Washington, DC | 10.3% | 9.6% |
| West Palm Beach, FL | 12.7% | 13.5% |
| National—U.S.A. | 13.4% | 12.5% |
