Summer home sales in the United States have slowed to their weakest pace in a decade, according to a new Redfin report.
Homes spent a median of 43 days on the market in July, the longest since July 2015. Pending sales fell to a two-year low. Sellers are pulling back, with active listings posting their steepest monthly decline since 2023.
Despite the slowdown in sales, prices rose 1.4% from a year earlier — the fastest pace in recent months — driven in part by shrinking inventory.
“Supply is starting to fall because prospective sellers are choosing not to list after seeing their neighbor’s home linger on the market or sell for below the asking price,” said Redfin senior economist Asad Khan. “Some existing sellers are also pulling their homes off the market, opting instead to rent their house out or hold off on a move altogether—especially if they bought at the peak of the pandemic market and are worried about taking a loss.”
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One positive for homebuyers is that mortgage rates are starting to relax as they are down to 6.58% after reaching a high of 6.75% for a 30-year fixed term.
However, even falling mortgage rates have not stopped all buyers from staying in the market. Roughly 58,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in July, marking the highest rate of cancellations since July 2017.
Redfin said buyers have gained some leverage as there is less competition for homes, but if more sellers pull back, the market may no longer be positive for buyers.
