Homebuyers gain leverage in dozens of US cities as mortgage rates above 7% force sellers to slash prices and offer concessions. But the advantage comes at a steep cost — the spike in rates erased roughly $22,000 in purchasing power for a buyer budgeting $2,000 a month in mortgage payments. Full story here

Homebuyers are backing out of deals at a historic pace. Redfin’s report found that about 1 in every 7 homebuying deals that went under contract in September were canceled, the highest rate for any September on record. The report attributes the high cancellation rate to buyers having more options in a strong buyer’s market. Read more:

Homebuyers are getting squeezed from BOTH sides… New York home prices rose 5.8% YoY in July. Miami rose 3.5%. Meanwhile, Mortgage News Daily’s latest 30-year fixed average hit 7.58%, with jumbo mortgages at 7.60%. You’re trying to save for a bigger down payment while borrowing the rest gets MORE expensive too. You can work, save more and still find the same home harder to afford. Fucking insane.

Homebuyers continue to struggle amid higher mortgage rates and lofty home prices. Sales of previously owned homes fell 2% in August from July to 3.98 million units on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, according to the National Association of Realtors. The sales activity marked the slowest pace since June 2025 and was felt hardest in the Northeast and Midwest. Sales were down 1.2% year over year. More:

US homebuyers are walking away from deals at the highest rate in years: 14.0% of home-purchase agreements that went under contract fell through in July, the highest rate since November 2023. The national cancellation rate has held between 13.0% and 14.0% over the last 4 years, well above the lower rates typical of the seller's market from 2020 to 2022. Atlanta posted the highest cancellation rate last month, at 19.8%, followed by Houston at 19.6%, San Antonio at 18.7%, and Las Vegas at 18.6%. This comes as sellers outnumber buyers by ~51%, near the highest percentage on record, giving buyers more options and making them more willing to walk away over inspection issues, low appraisals, or rejected concessions. At the same time, high home prices and elevated mortgage rates are leaving buyers with less financial room, making unexpected costs or concerns about taking on large monthly payments more likely to derail deals. The housing market is under historic pressure.