Redfin Reports More Sellers Having A Change Of Heart

Home sellers changed their minds in September at an historically high level, reports Redfin.

Nearly 85,000 sellers yanked their homes off the market during the month, a 28% increase from a year ago, as they decided to stay put rather than accept an offer they saw as too low.

So-called “de-listings” are typically seasonal, peaking in the winter months in general and around the holidays, but Redfin found that they have been rising since Spring 2024, with year-over-year growth peaking at 39% in June 2025.

De-listings also surged in 2022, when mortgage rates rose from pandemic-era lows and homebuying demand dropped.

De-listings are increasing faster than overall listings are increasing, the real estate brokerage firm also reported. Nationwide, 5.5% of all home listings were taken off the board in September. That’s the highest September share since at least 2016, and it’s up from 4.8% a year earlier.

The increase is larger than it looks on paper, says Redfin Economist Asad Khan.

“It represents a fairly significant jump in de-listings from last year,” said Khan. “More sellers are giving up because their homes have been sitting on the market for a long time, and they don’t want to or can’t afford to settle on accepting a low price.”

Seven of every 10 listings were “stale” in September, meaning they had been on the market for at least 60 days without going under contract. The typical home that was de-listed in September had been on the market for 100 days before it was taken down.
Stale listings have been elevated for the last several years, Redfin says, because there are half a million more home sellers than buyers in the market. Many sellers are pulling their homes off the market rather than letting them linger any longer.

Roughly 15% of the de-listings in September were at risk of selling at a loss, the highest share in five years. In some cases, though, de-listing is used as a selling strategy, with some sellers re-listing at a lower price to avoid house hunters seeing a “price drop” and to reset the number of days their homes have been on the market.

Of the homes that were de-listed in July then put back on the market, 31.6% have sold, Redfin says.

Additionally, one-third of September’s de-lisitngs were houses purchased two to five years ago (between 2020 and 2023), and 13% were houses acquired within the last two years. Together, that’s nearly half.

“Many owners who bought during the pandemic frenzy still expect sky-high prices,” said Khan. “They remember a seller’s market, so they’re hesitant to yield to buyers who want to negotiate the price down and/or ask for concessions. Recent sellers are also more likely to be testing the market; maybe they would sell and move up to a bigger home in a more desirable neighborhood if they get the price they want, but otherwise they’d stay put. Longtime owners, though, are more motivated to sell — they’re often downsizing or relocating for retirement.”