---
title: "Home purchase contracts are falling through at near-record rates, and real estate experts share what can help"
description: "Yahoo Finance reported that nearly 1 in 7 home purchase contracts fell through in September. Real estate professionals share the main reason they are seeing buyers back out and one step that can help keep a deal together."
canonical: "https://news.featured.com/1-in-7-september-home-contracts-fall-through-causes-fixes"
published: "2026-10-21T15:26:01.832Z"
updated: "2026-10-21T15:26:01.832Z"
format: "roundups"
beat: "Real Estate & Housing"
tags: ["Contract cancellations", "Home buying", "Akron", "Austin", "Denver", "Los Angeles", "San Diego"]
editor: "Adrian James"
license: "Featured News Republication License 1.0"
---

# Home purchase contracts are falling through at near-record rates, and real estate experts share what can help

_Yahoo Finance reported that nearly 1 in 7 home purchase contracts fell through in September. Real estate professionals share the main reason they are seeing buyers back out and one step that can help keep a deal together._

Roundups · [Real Estate & Housing](https://news.featured.com/beat/real-estate-housing.md) · Edited by Adrian James · 2026-10-21

In the news: [Homebuyers are canceling sales at near-record rates](https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/homebuyers-are-canceling-sales-at-near-record-rates-100000951.html) (Yahoo Finance)

Homebuyers are canceling contracts at near-record rates. Nearly 1 in 7 home purchases fell through in September, according to Redfin data reported by [Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/homebuyers-are-canceling-sales-at-near-record-rates-100000951.html).

We asked real estate professionals what they’re seeing in their own deals: why buyers are backing out, and one thing buyers or sellers can do to keep a deal from falling apart.

## Perspectives

### Cynthia Mattiza, Associate Broker, Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty

Austin, TX

[Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-mattiza-34224413/)

> In my opinion, the biggest reason buyers are backing out is due to their number of options. Here in Austin, buyers know there are plenty of options to choose from with the abundant supply. Much of that supply, those sellers just took a price cut to further show motivation. IN this market, the inspection period has become a second negotiation. Buyers then further asking for more credits, concessions and asking the sellers for more.
>
> If a seller won’t move on repairs or credits, the buyer cancels the contract because walking costs them almost nothing. The probably only did a $300 option period, and thats not as much skin in the game for the buyer. I’m also seeing buyers go under contract, keep watching new listings, and cancel when something better or less expensive hits the market. We are also seeing buyers take weeks to decide on a house, only to back out when they find something better or at a more aggressive price.
>
> One thing sellers can do to keep a deal together: Get a pre-listing inspection and fix or disclose the big items before you list. Make the house so bullet proof for buyers to not heavily negotiate on their repairs. Check the roof, foundation, HVAC, drainage. Know what the biggest ticket items could be, and address it before you list.  Ask your agent what they are seeing in teh contracts, are buyers asking for concessions, or asking sellers to make repairs. Be ready for what can come from the buyer's negotiations. When the buyer’s inspector finds what you already told them, there’s nothing to renegotiate. The surprises are what kill deals, not the issues themselves.
>
> One thing buyers can do: Get fully underwritten with a local lender before you write an offer, not just pre-approved.  Ask your lender for all the lending scenarios, what if the rate changes, what does that look like? If you want to ask the selelrs to pay for a rate buy down, how much should you ask? Know your real payment at today’s rate. Most of the cold feet I see is a buyer using numbers from an online calculator and not accurate numebrs, so they become a bit sticker shock when they see the real lending numbers, after they’re under contract. Oftentimes they did not factor the montly HOAs, and what homeowners insraunce for that spcific property may have looked like that could have swayed the costs.

### Cristina Ortega, Founder, Mrs. Property Solutions

Pasadena, CA

[Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ortegacristina/)

> When a deal falls apart, it's usually during the inspection. The buyer
>
> signs, then learns what's wrong with the house, and the price they agreed
>
> to stops making sense to them. It happens a lot with the older, inherited
>
> homes we buy, where nobody has kept up with repairs in years.
>
> We bought a Burbank house from two sisters who inherited it from their
>
> father and lived out of state, and it had serious foundation problems. We
>
> priced those in up front, so there was nothing to reopen in escrow, and
>
> their check at closing 21 days later was the exact amount we'd offered. A
>
> seller on a traditional listing can do the same thing by paying for an
>
> inspection before the house goes on the market and putting the report in
>
> buyers' hands before they bid.

### Ryan Koubeserian, Real Estate Broker, GRI, The Koubeserian Group at the Coronado Shores Company

Coronado, CA

[Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-koubeserian-3b5240b1)

> Currently I am seeing buyers cancel contracts when they get cold feet for a variety of reasons from overall stock market volatility, global issues and probably uncertainty with the mid term elections. In my particular market at The Coronado Shores where we specialize in selling luxury high rise condominiums, we occasionally have seen buyers cancel contracts over just plain and simple buyers remorse and cold feet, HOA reserves being outside of their comfort zone, buildings that may have differed maintenance issues or looming special assessments. As recently as last spring we had a contract cancelled as a result of a building lacking disclosure related to differed maintenance. Albeit thankfully, incredibly rare with my dealings.

### Joshua Lemmon, Co-Founder, West Hill Management

Akron, OH

[Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-lemmon-3b3a7142a/?isSelfProfile=true)

> I think the headlines are doing the most work, but a combination of everything together helps buyers walk. Many people are already reluctant to buy a home with elevated rates, but worsening news headlines give buyers an easy way out. With already looking down the barrel of a hugh new payment, and the headlines are saying "theres a crash coming, rates are at all time highs, inflation this inflation that"
>
> What can sellers do? Offer concessions in any way possible, such as paying down points, and state this clearly in the listing!
>
> Buyers? Now is the time to get the best deal you can; you have the power to negotiate. Ask for repairs or credit. Ask for seller financing! Look for property that's been sitting on the market, and send offers with a 10-15% discount—you may be surprised and get a response.

### Brett Johnson, real estate investor, licensed Colorado real estate agent, owner, New Era Home Buyers

Denver, CO

[Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettcjohnson/)

> By far the most common reason buyers are backing out deals these days in my investor experience is because when the emotion of having an offer accepted subsides, the numbers just don’t work for them anymore. Buyers might be okay with the purchase price but then get the inspection results back, the insurance quotes and tax estimates and when they start adding up the monthly payment figures it isn’t quite as comfortable as it was when looking at the purchase price alone. Seeing those numbers in black and white can crush that illusion of a great deal.
>
> Once clients start worrying about one thing with a property, they tend to start looking for things that are wrong with it. That’s why I always encourage sellers to lay all known problems out in front of buyers before the inspection so they don’t feel surprised. As a buyer, I recommend getting your insurance quotes, get preapproved and run the numbers on actual monthly ownership costs and have a serious talk with your lender before you decide to offer. A little bit of work before signing can save you lots of headaches after you’re under contract.

---

Read the full story at https://news.featured.com/1-in-7-september-home-contracts-fall-through-causes-fixes

Free to read, quote and cite with a link. Republishing is licensed only to approved Featured News publishers through the publisher hub (apply: https://news.featured.com/publishers). [Featured News Republication License 1.0](https://news.featured.com/publishers#license)