More home sellers are taking listings off the market, Redfin says

Weak buyer demand, weak home prices and overall uncertainty in the economy are forcing home sellers to change their minds and exit the market.

Nearly 85,000 U.S. sellers took their homes off the market in September, according to Redfin, up 28% from September 2024 and the highest level for that month in eight years.

Sellers are delisting because too many listings are getting old and staying on the market for a long time. Redfin reported that 70% of listings in September were on the market for 60 days or longer.

Homeowners are seeing prices drop significantly and would prefer to wait rather than accept lower offers. Prices were 1.3% higher year over year in September, down from a 1.4% increase in August, according to the S&P Quotility Case-Shiller US National Home Price NSA index.

“The frequency of delistings is making inventory lower than it appears on paper,” said Asad Khan, a senior economist at Redfin. “When thousands of homeowners take their homes off the market rather than accept a lower offer, it effectively reduces the supply of homes that are actually available to buyers. This keeps sales prices high.”

Some sellers are lowering prices – even by several times. According to Zillow, the typical price reduction is around $10,000, but multiple reductions are becoming more common as homes take longer to sell. Typical listings saw a cumulative price reduction of $25,000 in October, which is the largest discount ever recorded by Zillow.

The housing market is now headed into its slowest season yet. While 1 in 5 homes that were listed are re-listed, this may not happen for several months, as sellers will have to wait for the busier spring season to try again.

Home prices are still 50% higher than five years ago, but some sellers who bought in the last few years are facing potential losses. According to Redfin, about 15% of the homes that were removed from the list in September were at risk of selling at a loss, the highest share in five years.

According to Realtor.com, the supply of homes for sale is now about 15% higher than a year ago, but it is likely to decline in the coming weeks, both due to the season and weakening consumer sentiment among buyers and sellers.

According to Realtors, pending sales in October, which are based on signed contracts, rose 1.9% month over month and were basically flat from a year earlier. The monthly jump may be due to a slight decline in mortgage rates, which rose higher again in November.