September 2026 Delistings: A Stable Share

Realtor.com's September 2026 delistings reading was about 5.6%, in line with a year earlier, according to its September 30 report. That offers little support for a surge in the national withdrawal share. It does not establish that the number of withdrawals was unchanged or that sellers who withdrew had abandoned selling permanently.

For listing agents and investors, the distinction matters. A stable withdrawal share offers little basis for assuming today's competing homes will disappear before a seller needs to adjust the asking price.

What the September figures show

The September 30 announcement reports these measures for September 2026:

The release does not supply an exact September 2025 delisting percentage alongside the current figure. Its qualitative comparison should not be read as a precise zero change.

Together, the figures show more available inventory despite slightly fewer new listings and a stable withdrawal share. They do not establish that every market has more competition. Our inventory data and reports provide broader context, while the separate report on September inventory against historical baselines examines the longer view.

What counts as a delisting?

Realtor.com's June report, published July 1, describes delistings as homes removed from the market without a sale. Its contract-cancellation measure is separate: a listing moves from pending back to active, though that measure can miss cancellations involving complete removal.

An unsold listing therefore does not by itself establish that a purchase contract existed and then fell apart. Removal tells buyers that a home is no longer available through that listing record; it does not explain the owner's motive or future plans.

Consider a hypothetical seller who withdraws in September and relists in spring. The withdrawal happened, but the seller's departure was temporary. The September release does not measure how many withdrawn properties will return. Assessing an individual property requires its subsequent history, including the distinctions between MLS days on market and cumulative days on market.

Why the denominator matters

The headline active count is a snapshot of available listings on a typical day during the month, excluding pending listings where that status is available. It is not a count of every property that passed through the market, as Realtor.com's data definitions explain.

Delisting calculations also have coverage limits. In its June 2024 methodology, published July 9, 2024, Realtor.com explained that it used counties with consistent reporting of sold listings to distinguish withdrawals from sales. It expressly said the inventory base for that calculation differed from its overall inventory estimate.

A later methodology, published August 24, 2026, describes four-week trailing delisting counts measured in the week ending each month's final Saturday, divided by unique active properties.

These earlier explanations show why the measures should not be mixed. September's release labels its withdrawal reading “September” but does not restate the precise cutoff, sample size or denominator construction. The earlier timing convention is not confirmed for September, and multiplying 5.6% by 1,161,615 would not produce a supported national withdrawal count.

How a stable share can coexist with growing inventory

Two mechanisms explain why these readings can coexist. First, a stable percentage can conceal a rising count when its denominator grows. In a hypothetical, consistently measured sample, 50 withdrawals out of 1,000 properties and 60 out of 1,200 both equal 5%. Those are illustrative figures, not September estimates.

Second, withdrawals are only one way homes leave available inventory. New and returning listings add supply; moves into pending status and removals reduce it. Available inventory can grow whenever additions exceed departures, even with continuing withdrawals.

The pending count is also a snapshot, not a count of September contract signings. These published totals cannot reconstruct all the movements behind the inventory increase.

Verify the competing homes locally

National inventory and sales figures provide context. For a particular seller, build a dated comparison set by location, property type and price range. Track which homes remain active, go pending, withdraw or reappear. Match returning properties by address so a new listing identifier does not automatically count as a new competitor.

If a comparable home disappears, verify its status before changing the competition count in a pricing presentation. Record the withdrawal, then follow the property's history without assuming a permanent exit. Base the seller's immediate pricing decision on the homes buyers can actually choose now.