Sellers are pulling homes off the market at the fastest pace since 2020

More frustrated home sellers were giving up, right in the midst of the all-important spring market, according to new data.

Nationwide, 5.8% of all home listings were pulled off the market in April, according to Redfin, a real estate brokerage. That ties with December for the highest share of homes delisted since March 2020, when the pandemic hit and the housing market froze. Delistings in April were up 3.8% compared with March.

The increase comes as higher mortgage rates, elevated gas prices and weaker consumer confidence take their toll on housing demand. Sellers are no longer in the driver’s seat and aren’t getting the prices they want.

Atlanta saw the highest share of homes come off the market in April, with 1 in 10 delisted. San Jose, California, followed with roughly 9% pulled, then Los Angeles (7.8%), Dallas (7.8%) and Seattle (7.7%).

Mortgage rates had been falling at the start of this year, with the 30-year fixed briefly touching the 5% range at the end of February, according to Mortgage News Daily. They then jumped sharply when the war with Iran started and have remained elevated since then.

“Buyers know they have negotiating power, often offering under the asking price and completing inspections, but some sellers just won’t budge,” said Patricia Ammann, a Redfin agent, in a release.

Home prices have been easing, but are still higher than they were a year ago and have even begun to strengthen more recently.

“Markets that depend more heavily on traditional mortgage financing and rate-sensitive buyers are seeing prices stay relatively flat,” said Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality, in a release. “Overall, fewer markets posted year-over-year price declines in April than in prior months, pointing to continued stabilization across the housing market.”  

Signed contracts on existing homes, so-called pending sales, did rise very slightly in April, up 1.4% from March, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is likely due to higher inventory, which was up nearly 6% from March.

Listings in some parts of the country are starting to pile up, as new ones come on the market and other ones sit. Homes are sitting on the market longer, causing some buyers to simply give up as the all-important spring season draws to a close.

Some homeowners who pulled their homes off the market over the past year relisted them in April, according to Redfin, hoping to take advantage of the spring market, despite higher mortgage rates. The report found 2.5% of the homes on the market in April were relistings, tied with the prior two months for the highest share since mid-2020 when there was a sudden surge in housing demand.