U.S. pending home sales haven't been this low since 2014, except the pandemic freeze in 2020. Mortgage rates climbed above 7%, pricing out would-be buyers.         The total supply of homes for sale rose to its highest level since March 2020.         14.5% of homebuying deals fell through in September, the highest share in Redfin's records, as the buyer's market gives house hunters more room to walk away.                SEATTLE, Oct. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. pending home sales are down to their lowest level since spring 2014—with the exception of April 2020, when the onset of the pandemic ground the housing market to a halt. This is according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket.       Redfin, a leading digital real estate brokerage, is now part of Rocket Companies           Pending home sales declined 4% from a month earlier in September on a seasonally adjusted basis—the biggest monthly drop in more than three years. This is a real-time indicator of what's happening in the housing market; fewer homes went under contract in September largely because mortgage rates rose steadily, surpassing 7% by the end of the month.              All figures in this report are seasonally adjusted, with the exception of median sale price data and mortgage rate data. See a more detailed methodology here and view an interactive dashboard here.          For the first time in three years, pending home sales declined in all 50 of the most populous U.S. metros. The last time that happened was September 2023, which was also the last time mortgage rates surpassed 7% for a sustained period.          The declines were biggest on the West Coast: Seattle posted the biggest drop (-24.4% year over year), followed by Los Angeles (-16%), San Diego (-15.8%) and Anaheim, CA (-15.5%). Those Southern California metros are among the priciest in the U.S., so rising mortgage rates hit them hard, pricing many on-the-fence buyers out. Seattle is also expensive, and a bumpy local job market is curbing demand.          Closed home sales also fell nationwide in September, declining 1.6% month over month to their lowest level since the end of 2023. Most of the deals that closed last month went under contract in July or August, when rates were marching upward and widespread economic uncertainty was pushing many would-be buyers to the sidelines.              The weekly average mortgage rate climbed to 7.28% at the end of September, the highest level in three years.           "It's not surprising that when rates climb above 7%, fewer people buy homes because fewer people can afford them," said Chen Zhao, Redfin's head of economic research. "But dig a little deeper, and there's a silver lining on both sides. For buyers, less competition means more room to negotiate: on price, on closing costs, on repairs, and sometimes sellers even pay for a mortgage-rate buydown. Slow sales also mean prices may flatten or fall in the not-so-distant future. Sellers should remember that while many house hunters have pulled back, there are some people who need to move and are still buying homes. My best advice for sellers in this environment is to price realistically from the start and lean into any flexibility you can offer; a rate buydown or covering closing costs can go a long way when buyers are stretched thin."