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Home-sale cancellations are on the rise in Greater Boston, according to a new report from the brokerage and listings portal Redfin.

In Greater Boston, 10.9 percent of home purchases fell through in July 2026 after going pending, according to Redfin’s economist team. This represents a 170-basis-point increase year-over-year.

“Sometimes buyers get cold feet before the inspection – they revisit the numbers with their lender, get anxious about the payment and never even send the deposit,” Florida Redfin agent Juan Castro said in a statement provided by the company. “Other times, they’ll find something relatively minor in the inspection and use it as leverage to ask for major concessions or walk away entirely. Buyers know they have options right now, so they’re pushing harder in negotiations. That can be tough for sellers, but it’s good news for buyers.”

Across the country, 14 percent of home purchases were canceled in July. This is the highest share in nearly three years on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to Redfin data.

Redfin’s report pointed to shifting dynamics between sellers and buyers. Across the country, there were an estimated 966,752 buyers and an estimated 1,462,921 sellers in the market in July 2026.

But in Boston, the number of buyers on the market keeps getting larger after briefly and uncharacteristically dropping below the number of sellers on the market this spring, Redfin estimates. There were an estimated 12,404 Boston buyers and an estimated 12,088 sellers in Boston in July.

In another sign of sellers’ continuing strength, data from listings service MLS PIN shows substantially fewer Greater Boston single-family listings had price changes this June versus last June, as Banker & Tradesman reported Sunday.

Uptick Reported in Boston Home Sales Falling Through

by Sam Lattof time to read: 1 min
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