NATIONAL — More home sales are not reaching the closing table.
Redfin, the real estate brokerage, analyzed the 50 largest metro areas.
According to their analysis, almost 40,000 home-sale agreements were canceled in January.
That is up by close to 1% from the previous year.
It is also the highest January record since 2017.
Redfin points to a buyer’s market, with thousands more sellers than buyers. Another major factor is that, although mortgage costs have come down, they remain historically high.
Alin Glogovicean, a Redfin Premier agent in Los Angeles, says that economic uncertainty might also play a role.
“They’re second-guessing the wisdom of making a huge purchase when there’s a fear in the back of their mind about the state of the economy and the uncertainty of their finances,” said Glogovicean.
In Seattle, sales cancellations rose from close to 8% to 10%. However, that is not the highest — San Antonio leads, rising from 15.6% to 21.2% this year.
Redfin also highlighted some contradictions: cancellations fell in 11 markets, including Tampa, Milwaukee, and Nassau County, New York.
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