Tariffs and stock market volatility are clouding spring home shopping season

A few weeks ago, Los Angeles real estate agent Scott Price got a call that’s only happened once before in his two-decade-long career: his buyer was backing out – just two days before closing.

A few weeks ago, Los Angeles real estate agent Scott Price got the kind of call that’s only happened once before in his two-decade-long career: His buyer was backing out — just two days before closing. To Price, the reason seemed to be a growing uneasiness with the economy. Price’s client, warned by his company that layoffs may be coming, no longer felt secure enough to make such a large purchase. Rather than take the risk, the buyer walked away from the home — and their 3% deposit. “This is not a common occurrence for me,” Price said about the transaction falling through. “It was a very unusual event.” Though deal cancellations may not be common for Price, they are happening more frequently around the US. In the four weeks between March 17 and April 13, more than 14% of all home purchase agreements in the US were canceled, according to data provided to CNN by Redfin. That’s the highest level for this time of year since 2020, when the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic froze the housing market. President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again approach to tariffs this month has led economists to warn that everything from footwear to furniture may soon see price hikes, and some anticipate a recession could occur as soon as this year. But real estate agents say they may already be feeling the effects of economic uncertainty today. Even before Trump’s April 2 announcement of sweeping tariffs, homebuying in 2025 was off to a slow start. Sales of previously owned homes, which make up the vast majority of the market, dropped 5.9% in March from the prior month, according to the National Association of Realtors. That was the weakest pace of home sales in March since 2009.