53K home-purchase contracts canceled in March

Plus: Fastest growing real estate markets in Texas

April 23, 2026

☺️ Well, hello there, Thursday.

Today's newsletter is 723 words — a 2.5-minute read.

1. 53K home-purchase contracts canceled in March

According to a new report from Redfin, nearly 53,000 home-sale agreements fell through in March, equal to 13.4% of homes that went under contract that month, up from 12.5% a year earlier.

Among the 43 major metros analyzed, San Antonio recorded the highest cancellation rate at 18.7%.

Redfin attributed the spike in cancellations to increased buyer leverage, driven by a surplus of roughly 600,000 sellers, along with elevated housing costs and ongoing economic uncertainty.

Source: Redfin

2. Pending home sales rose 1.5% in March

According to data released Tuesday by the NAR, pending home sales increased 1.5% month over month in March but remained 1.1% below year-ago levels.

The Pending Home Sales Index came in at 73.7, up from 72.1 in February.

Among the 50 largest metro areas, two Texas markets posted some of the strongest annual gains in pending home sales. Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos ranked third (+12.8%), while Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington placed ninth (+8.1%).

“Contract signings rose in March despite higher mortgage rates, pointing to pent-up housing demand,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said. “A greater supply of inventory will help translate that demand into more home sales.”

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3. Catch up quick

🚀 Fastest growing real estate markets in Texas. (Norada)

🔻 Zillow cuts home price outlook through 2027. (Zillow)

🤝 74% of buyers hire the first agent they talk to. (BAM)

📣 FHFA, HUD approve VantageScore 4.0 for government-backed loans. (FHFA)

🚕 Tesla rolls out robotaxi service in Dallas and Houston. (TeslaRobotaxi)

A MESSAGE FROM DAVE YOUR MORTGAGE GUY

Families are putting disabled children in facilities when they could be buying them a home.
And most of them don't know the difference is 5% down.
There's a conventional mortgage program built exactly for this situation:

  • Parent buys a home for a disabled adult child who can't independently earn enough income

  • As little as 5% down sometimes 3%

  • Primary home rate not the higher investment property rate

Most families are paying facility costs when they could be building equity.
The video breaks this down in under three minutes — including the long-term financial benefits other lenders aren’t telling you.

4. World Cup host cities see vacation rental bookings surge

According to a report from AirDNA, national vacation rental demand is up significantly. June reservations are pacing 15.2% above last year, while July is up 17.1%, driven by peak-season travel and anticipation for the upcoming World Cup.

Some host cities are seeing even stronger momentum, with bookings for June and July surging as much as 58%, an early indicator of the increased travel demand tied to the international soccer tournament.

In Texas, host cities Dallas and Houston are among the top performers, with strong occupancy rates across June and July, as well as nearby markets. Fort Worth leads with a 58.2% increase, followed by Houston at 45.2%, and Dallas at 44.3%.

5. Home prices inched up 0.1% in March

According to a new report from Redfin, home prices rose 0.1% month over month in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, marking the third straight month of the same increase.

Here are other key takeaways:

  • Prices were up 1.7% year over year, the slowest annual growth rate since 2012.

  • Prices declined in 13 major metros on a monthly basis, with the largest drops in Fort Worth (-0.8%) and Austin (-0.7%).

  • Year over year, the biggest declines were in San Antonio (-4.1%), Jacksonville, FL (-3.5%), and Austin (-3%).

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