Why Buyers Are Backing Out of Deals During Inspection

By Mark Callender

Hello, my name is Mark Callender and I am a licensed real estate agent with RE/MAX Results. Because I have been helping families buy and sell their homes for more than 18 years, I am now helping their children to buy their first homes and their parents to downsize. No matter the direction you’re moving, my goal is to make the process as calm and enjoyable as it can be.

A home goes contingent on an inspection, disappears from the market for a short stretch, and then quietly returns as active. Over the past 30 days, we’ve seen it happen more and more, and our clients have started asking us what’s behind it. In most cases, the buyer backed out during the inspection period, after the seller had already accepted the offer.

More inventory keeps buyers shopping. Buyers simply have more opportunities right now. More inventory on the market widens the field they can choose from. Interest rates are higher as well, and while that isn’t great for buyers, it has taken much of the pressure out of their search. Many keep looking for the perfect property even after they’re under contract. When a home that’s been sitting for 10 days catches their eye, they go see it and often like it better than the one they’ve offered on. They then cancel within their contingency window, walking away from an offer another seller has already accepted.

The inspection period becomes the exit. Cold feet play a role too. A buyer writes a quick offer, buyer’s remorse sets in, and the inspection period starts to look like the only way out with their earnest money intact. Behind many of these cancellations sits a simple belief that a better property might be out there, and sometimes there genuinely is.

Start with a fully prepared home. For sellers, protection starts with preparation. We recommend preparing your home as well as you can. A pre-inspection is also worth considering.

Upfront concessions can protect your price. Offering some concessions upfront is another option, and one we’re seeing more often is an interest rate buydown. With a buydown, the seller contributes money to lower the buyer’s interest rate, ideally instead of reducing the home’s price. It does cost the seller money, and it deserves a full discussion on its own, yet it has become an increasingly common incentive.

Builders have more room for incentives. We see these incentives most in new construction. Builders tend to have money set aside, which lets them offer these incentives more easily than many single-family sellers can.

All of this comes down to preparation, putting you in the best possible position when you sell. When the home is in great shape, and the right incentives are in place, buyers feel they’re getting a genuinely good deal from you. Our goal is a buyer who hangs in there all the way to the closing table, because in the end, that’s what counts.

If you’re planning to sell and want a buyer who makes it to closing, call us at 612-961-9448, email us at mark@markcallenderhomes.com, or visit callenderhometeam.results.net. We’re always happy to answer your questions.