Startling new figures expose little thought of weak point in California’s housing crisis

California homeowners are delisting their properties at an astonishing rate, according to exclusive data from Realtor.com. 

Since May of 2022, the state’s delistings have climbed from 3.6% to a record 6.3% in May 2026, suggesting homeowners are increasingly pulling out of the market rather than transacting amid economic uncertainty surrounding the ongoing turmoil overseas and higher mortgage rates. 

Hannah Jones, a senior economist at Realtor.com, told The Post the reason behind the unprecedented delisting rates could be twofold — buyers not willing to pay the high price that sellers are asking, and sellers realizing they might not be able to afford a new home. 

“The housing market is still relatively high priced which means it is hard for sellers to sell a home and afford a new one,” Jones said.

“It could also be as mortgage rates rise, there are fewer interested buyers which gives sellers less activity and so they get discouraged and go ahead and pull their home off the market.” 

California’s median home price in April climbed to a record high of $914,810, according to the latest figures from the California Association of Realtors.

The study defines delistings as properties that were actively for sale in the prior week, but are entirely off-market in the current week. The weekly transitions are identified and are tallied into a rolling 4-week total.

California’s delisting rate is “significantly higher” than the rest of the county, but according to Jones, relistings have remained relatively flat indicating sellers are staying off the market for longer. 

The state has a relisting range in the low-to-mid 4% since 2021, which is below the 5-6% levels that were seen between 2017 and 2020, according to Realtor.com data. 

Nationally, delisting rates have also continued to climb since May 2022, reaching a record high 4.8% this May — about 1.4% above the historical May average. 

Relisting rates nationally have stayed relatively unchanged at about 3.6-3.9% year-over-year, according to the data. 

Jones said the next few months will be crucial in determining sentiment in the housing market. 

“Is it that buyers are pulling out of the market either because it’s still just not affordable enough to transact, or that broader economic uncertainty is continuing to spook buyers and you know, make them more hesitant to make these big financial decisions,” Jones said.