Sellers Are Pulling Their Homes Off the Market at Near-Record Rates

According to a new Redfin analysis, 5.8% of all U.S. home listings were taken off the market in April.

That’s tied with December 2025 for the highest share since March 2020, when the onset of the pandemic ground the housing market to a halt and spooked sellers, Redfin said. Before 2020, delistings were never as common as they are now, the online brokerage noted.

Month over month, delistings rose 3.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the second straight month they were up, according to a Redfin analysis of MLS data.

Redfin noted that a relisting is defined as a home that goes on the market after having been delisted from the market for at least 31 days during the prior 12 months.

Delistings are on the rise largely because it’s a buyer’s market, Redfin noted. It said that many homeowners want to sell, but only if they are able to get the price they want. In many cases, prospective sellers test the waters but pull their home off the market when they don’t get the price or terms that make selling worth it, Redfin said.

“Sellers are still getting used to the post-pandemic normal,” said Patricia Ammann, a Redfin Premier agent in Arlington, Virginia. “Prices aren’t soaring like they were five years ago–high gas prices and the rising cost of living overall is trickling down to the housing market, making buyers much less likely to bid prices up. Buyers know they have negotiating power, often offering under the asking price and completing inspections, but some sellers just won’t budge.”

Multiple Offers

Ammann said that the most desirable properties still elicit multiple offers and sell above asking price with no contingencies.

According to Redfin, these are the forces driving the trend:

  • Homes are taking longer to sell. Mortgage rates came down from their recent peak in April, but they were still double pandemic-era lows–and home prices are still rising. Affordability is strained, which has pushed many house hunters to the sidelines. With fewer buyers competing for homes, sellers are more likely to wait weeks or months without a strong offer.
  • Redfin noted that some sellers who delisted are now re-listing them, saying that 2.5% of homes that were on the market in April belonged to sellers who had pulled their listing in the previous 12 months, then relisted.
  • Inventory is rising faster than demand. In many parts of the country, listings have piled up as more homeowners try to sell as buyer activity slows. That increased competition among sellers means some homes sit unsold, prompting owners to pull them off the market rather than cut their price.
  • Some sellers still have pandemic-era price expectations. Homeowners who watched prices soar during 2020-2022 may still expect bidding wars or top-dollar offers. But today’s buyers are more price-sensitive because monthly housing costs are much higher. When sellers don’t receive the offers they anticipated, some choose to delist and wait for conditions to improve.
  • Economic uncertainty is making both buyers and sellers cautious. Concerns about the Iran war, inflation, tariffs, and job security are causing some homeowners to hesitate about moving unless they can get a strong price.
  • Delisting can be a strategic reset. Sellers sometimes remove a stale listing to relaunch it later with a new price, new photos, or during a more active season. Others are deciding to rent their homes instead, especially if they have a low mortgage rate they don’t want to give up.

The brokerage said that’s tied with the prior two months for the highest share since mid-2020, when many homeowners were placing their homes back on the market after delisting at the start of the pandemic.

Redfin said that homeowners who pulled their home off the market over the last year are increasingly trying again as they come to terms with the current buyer’s market. The brokerage noted that as high mortgage rates and growing inventory continue giving buyers negotiating power, sellers are aligning with the realities of the market.

Stronger Spring Market

Homeowners also were betting on a stronger spring market, hoping for a bump in homebuying demand after a slow few years that were marked by sky-high mortgage rates.

The market improved in April as rates dipped a bit, though it slowed down again in May as rates jumped, Redfin said.

“Many of last year’s sellers delisted when they couldn’t get the price they wanted. Now, some of them are circling back, willing to price realistically and do what it takes to sell their home,” said Monica DiSchiano, a Redfin Premier agent in Austin, Texas. “They’ve realized that if they’re selling for less, the next home they buy will cost less, too.”

Redfin reported that in Atlanta, one in 10 (10.7%) homes listed in April were pulled off the market–the highest share among the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Next come San Jose, California (9.3%), Los Angeles (7.8%), Dallas (7.8%), and Seattle (7.7%).

Redfin said that delistings were least common in Pittsburgh, where 3.5% of April’s listings were pulled off the market. Next was Columbus, Ohio (3.6%), Chicago (3.6%), Cincinnati (3.7%), and New Brunswick, New Jersey (4.4%).

Redfin noted that Chicago and New Brunswick are two of just a few metros in the U.S. that are not buyer’s markets.

Bay Area Has High Relisting Rate

In San Francisco, 4.2% of the homes that were on the market in April were relistings of homes that had been delisted in the prior 12 months, Redfin said, which is the highest share of the metros Redfin analyzed. San Francisco is followed by neighboring San Jose, where 4.1% of all listings were relistings.

Next came Boston (3.8%), Oakland, California (3.7%), and Riverside, California (3.7%).

Redfin noted that relistings are most common in the Bay Area because the local market is hot, fueled largely by the AI boom.

Relistings were least common in Pittsburgh (1.6%), also the metro area where delistings were least common, Redfin said. Pittsburgh is followed by Virginia Beach, Virginia (1.7%), Cincinnati (2%), Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (2%), and New Brunswick, New Jersey (2.1%).

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Picture of Lance Murray

Lance Murray

A veteran journalist with decades of experience in both online and print publishing, Lance Murray is Senior Editor of MortgagePoint. Has many years of experience as an editor, writer, photographer, designer, and artist. Most recently, he edited and wrote for an innovation website and a group of real estate-focused magazines.
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