How To Price Your Home In 2026
Why Sellers Pulled Listings Instead of Cutting Prices in 2025 — and What That Means for Your Sale in 2026
A few years ago, sellers could price high, do minimal prep, and still get traction. That market trained people to believe the buyer would “catch up” to the number.
In 2025, that expectation has collided with reality.
Across the U.S., delistings surged in 2025—not because sellers suddenly hate selling, but because many homeowners are choosing to pull their listing rather than reduce the asking price. Investopedia reports that delistings were up 45.5% year-over-year through October 2025, and that for every 100 new listings in October, 27 were pulled from the market. Investopedia That’s not a small fluctuation. That’s a meaningful behavior change.
At the same time, inventory has been rising month after month, buyer demand remains price-sensitive, and time-on-market is longer in many areas. Realtor.com’s November 2025 data shows inventory up 12.6% year-over-year (its 25th straight month of inventory gains), while homes are lingering longer and delistings are climbing. Realtor
So what’s happening?
This isn’t a housing crash story. It’s a pricing standoff—and it’s directly shaping how sellers should approach 2026 planning, pricing, and timing.
The 2025 Market Isn’t Collapsing — It’s Negotiating
If you only read headlines, you’ll see “prices cooling” and assume sellers should panic. But the reality is more specific: the market is still moving, just less forgiving and more affordability-driven than it was during the surge.
Existing-home sales in November 2025 rose 0.5% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR That’s not a boom, but it’s movement—and it matters because it shows buyers haven’t disappeared.
At the same time, NAR reported total housing inventory at 1.43 million units in November (up 7.5% year-over-year) and a 4.2-month supply. NAR Inventory is not “flooding” the market nationally, but conditions are looser than the tightest years—enough that pricing errors now get punished.
And that’s where delistings come in.
The Big 2025 Trend: Sellers Are Pulling Homes Instead of Cutting Price
Delistings are one of the clearest “tells” in this market. When sellers would rather withdraw than reduce, it signals they don’t accept the feedback the market is giving them.
Two key data points help show the scale:
Redfin reported that nearly 85,000 homes were pulled off the market in September 2025, up 28% from a year earlier—the highest level for that month in eight years. Redfin
Realtor.com, as cited in Investopedia, reported delistings up 45.5% year-over-year through October 2025, with an unusually high rate of sellers retreating when their price expectations weren’t met. Investopedia
This isn’t a “random seasonal blip.” Realtor.com’s research team explicitly frames elevated delistings as a defining pattern of 2025. Realtor
Why Sellers Resist Price Cuts in 2025
1) The “I missed the peak” problem
Sellers are not pricing off today’s buyers—they’re pricing off yesterday’s neighbors.
Even when a home is still worth more than it was in 2019, sellers often view anything below the 2021–2022 peak as “losing.” Investopedia notes that the median listing price in November 2025 was flat year-over-year at $415,000, but still 36.1% higher than November 2019—meaning many sellers still have massive equity gains, even if the market won’t reward peak pricing anymore. Investopedia
So psychologically, sellers feel they “should” still get the top number—even when affordability changed.
2) Mortgage rate lock-in is real (and measurable)
If you’re sitting on a 3% rate, selling can feel financially irrational.
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.21% as of December 18, 2025. Freddie Mac That rate level changes monthly payments dramatically, even when purchase prices don’t.
So many homeowners do the math and conclude:
“If I sell, my next payment will be much higher.”
“If I don’t have to sell, I won’t.”
That’s why sellers often choose to withdraw instead of negotiate.
3) Sellers interpret “no offers” the wrong way
In a softer market, a lack of offers usually means one of three things:
Price is misaligned
Condition/value presentation is weak
Marketing is not reaching qualified buyers
But many sellers interpret it as, “We just haven’t met the right buyer yet.” That belief delays corrections.
Why Buyers Are Not Paying Yesterday’s Prices
Buyers are still buying. They’re just buying differently.
Realtor.com’s November 2025 report describes subdued buyer activity, longer time on market, and affordability pressures reshaping where buyers shop—specifically noting buyers shifting toward lower-priced “refuge markets.” Realtor
This is what it looks like on the ground:
Buyers negotiate harder
They walk away faster when value isn’t there
They won’t overpay “just because”
And again, monthly payment matters. When mortgage rates are in the low-6% range, buyers are less tolerant of:
cosmetic issues
dated kitchens/baths
roof/HVAC uncertainty
“projects” priced like turnkey
What Longer Time on Market Really Signals Now
In a hot market, time on market meant “the buyer hasn’t clicked yet.”
In 2025, time on market is a pricing signal.
When listings sit, buyers assume:
the seller is unrealistic
there’s a hidden issue
the home will eventually reduce
That perception becomes self-fulfilling.
And if the seller responds by pulling the listing, it doesn’t erase the signal. In many cases, Redfin notes the behavior is tied to sellers not wanting to lower price, not necessarily to a change in circumstances. Redfin
So the outcome becomes: stagnation instead of resolution.
What Sellers Should Do Instead (Strategy That Has Worked in 2025 and Will Work in 2026)
This is the part most blogs dodge because it requires telling the truth: in this market, you can’t “vibe” your way to top dollar. You need strategy.
1) Price based on buyer affordability — not seller emotion
The winning approach now is pricing that creates competition at today’s payment levels. You want buyers to feel they’re getting value relative to alternatives. If the market is telling you the number isn’t working, delaying the response usually costs more than responding early.
2) Use early feedback like a diagnostic tool
The first 10–14 days are critical. If you’re getting showings but no offers, that’s one story. If you’re getting no showings, that’s another. Either way, your response should be data-driven, not reactive.
3) Consider incentives as a bridge (before you slash price)
A price reduction is blunt. Sometimes incentives are smarter:
closing cost credits
rate buydowns (where appropriate)
targeted repairs to remove objections
The key is to use these tools while you still have momentum, not after the listing gets stale.
4) Don’t confuse “withdrawn” with “protected”
If you pull the listing to wait out the market, you’re making a bet:
that rates will fall
that buyer demand will surge
that competing inventory won’t improve
Those things might happen—but they might not happen on your timeline. NAR’s November 2025 data shows inventory levels and months’ supply are still shifting month to month. NAR Meanwhile Realtor.com documents that delistings are elevated and buyer behavior is increasingly selective. Realtor That’s not a stable “wait it out” environment. It’s a market where timing and execution matter.
The Practical Takeaway
2025 has become a year defined by sellers pulling back when the price they want isn’t being validated.
Delistings are up sharply. Investopedia
Inventory has risen for many consecutive months. Realtor
Mortgage rates remain high enough to shape affordability and behavior. Freddie Mac
This is not a market that rewards stubbornness. It rewards precision: correct pricing, strong presentation, and fast response to real buyer feedback.
If you are considering selling your home and would like to discuss the best strategy, give me a call. It costs you nothing, and you'll get an honest opinion even if it is not what you want to hear.
Kim Douthit 513-998-5858
References
Freddie Mac. (2025, December 18). Mortgage rates drop slightly (Primary Mortgage Market Survey®). Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac. (2025, December 18). Mortgage rates (Primary Mortgage Market Survey®). Freddie Mac+1
Investopedia. (2025, December). Delistings jump 45% as sellers pull homes rather than cut prices. Investopedia
National Association of Realtors. (2025, December 19). NAR existing-home sales report shows 0.5% increase in November. NAR
Realtor.com Research. (2025, December 8). November 2025 monthly housing market trends report. Realtor
Realtor.com. (2025, December 8). Affordability reshapes where Americans can buy homes (press release summarizing monthly housing report). Media | Move, Inc.
Redfin. (2025, November 25). Delistings jump 28% as sellers pull homes off market. Redfin
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. (2025, December 18). 30-year fixed rate mortgage average in the United States (MORTGAGE30US) [Data series]. FRED. FRED
Investopedia (Delistings jump 45%): https://www.investopedia.com/homes-for-sale-delisted-jump-11863935
Redfin (Delistings jump 28%): https://www.redfin.com/news/delistings-jump-sellers-pull-homes-off-market/
Realtor.com Nov 2025 report: https://www.realtor.com/research/november-2025-data/
Realtor.com press release: https://mediaroom.realtor.com/2025-12-08-Realtor-com-R-Monthly-Housing-Report-Affordability-Reshapes-Where-Americans-Can-Buy-Homes
NAR Nov 2025 existing-home sales: https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nar-existing-home-sales-report-shows-0-5-increase-in-november
Freddie Mac PMMS: https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms
Freddie Mac PMMS archive: https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms_archives
FRED (MORTGAGE30US): https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US
