When a Home Sale Falls Through, What Now?

You’ve done everything right to get your home sold. You’ve cleaned, staged, listed, and accepted a promising offer. Maybe you even found your next house and started packing. And then, unexpectedly, the home sale “falls through.”

You’re not alone. A recent report revealed that during the first month of the year, 14.3% of homes under contract failed to close. That’s one in seven pending home sales — and one in seven life chapters placed on hold.

The current high interest rate market is likely contributing to this uptick in failed deals. Historically, a more typical average of canceled pending sales is 5%–6%.

In this post, we provide eight clear steps you can follow to help get your home back on track and into the hands of a new buyer.

Did a Canceled Deal Spoil Your Own Selling Plans?

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1. Find out exactly why the sale fell through

Before you make any big decisions, press pause and get clarity on why the sale didn’t close. Your next steps will depend heavily on what you learn. Here are some of the most common reasons a home sale falls through:

• Home inspection contingency: Your buyer may have walked away due to repair concerns or surprise issues found during the inspection.
• Buyer home sale contingency: If your buyer’s own home didn’t sell in time, they may no longer be in a position to purchase yours.
• Financing fell through: Even pre-approved buyers can lose financing due to a job change, new debt, or other credit-related setbacks.
• Low home appraisal: If your home’s appraisal came in below the contract price, the buyer’s lender may not have approved the full loan amount.
• Unexpected title issue: Legal issues like liens, ownership disputes, or paperwork errors can delay (or cancel) your home sale.
• Incompetent or unresponsive agent: Miscommunications, missed deadlines, or poor negotiation can derail your deal.
• Buyer remorse: Sometimes, the buyer simply changes their mind, whether from cold feet or shifting priorities. This is not something you can anticipate.

Ask your agent to walk you through what happened and whether any warning signs appeared during the process.

Before you put the home back on the market (our step #3 below), you should double-check that you have all the home-appeal and contingency bases covered.

»Learn more: Most Home Purchase Agreements Are Contingent on These Two Items