US home deals fell apart at a record rate for June, Redfin says

US HOME deals were cancelled at the highest rate on record for June as affordability pressures sidelined potential buyers.

Nearly 56,000 home purchases were cancelled last month, equal to about 15 per cent of all homes that went under contract that month, Redfin reported on Tuesday (Jul 23). That’s the highest share of cancellations for June in the brokerage’s data going back to 2017.

Buyers are becoming more skittish in the face of record-high home prices and interest rates hovering just under 7 per cent. Facing steep costs, house hunters are increasingly parting with homes under contract, sometimes because of small problems.

“Buyers are getting more and more selective,” said Julie Zubiate, a Redfin real estate agent in the San Francisco Bay area. “They are backing out due to minor issues because the monthly costs associated with buying a home today are just too high to rationalise not getting everything on their must-have list.”

Shoppers have been confronting a tough market since 2022 when rates started rising, squeezing affordability even more. The pressures have weighed on sales, with transactions for previously owned properties falling for a fourth straight month in June.

Sellers are now trying to adjust to mercurial buyers. Owners cut prices on nearly 20 per cent of listed homes in June – a record for the month and up from about 14 per cent a year earlier. The affordability crunch is starting to cause listings to pile up on the market for longer, Redfin said. BLOOMBERG