𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝟱𝟴%. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆. 1,534,918 sellers. 972,300 buyers. That was August, per Redfin. The widest gap since they started counting in 2013. A surplus like that should push prices down. In September the median existing home sold for $417,500, the highest for any September on record. Well. Not yet. Sellers would rather wait than cut. Delistings hit a record 112,788 last December. An owner lists, hates the offers, and pulls the sign instead of cutting the price. And rates moved the wrong way. In late February the 30-year mortgage dipped to 5.98%. On October 8 Freddie Mac had it at 7.40%, the highest since November 2023. In between, the Fed raised rates for the first time since 2023. Run it on a 10%-down loan for the median home, about $375,000. At 5.98% the payment is roughly $2,240. At 7.40% it’s about $2,600. Same loan, eight months apart, $350 more every month before taxes and insurance. So who is this buyer’s market for? It works best for cash. All-cash deals were 27% of September sales. Those buyers get choice, motivated sellers, and no rate at all. Must be nice. The financed buyer gets the same choice at a payment that just jumped. The overhang. Every delisted home is a seller waiting for lower rates. When rates fall, the buyers come back. So do those listings. That could put a lid on any price rebound. The split. The national number blends opposite markets. Nashville had 139% more sellers than buyers in August. Nassau County, NY had 28% fewer sellers than buyers. A national average tells you very little about either one. Prices haven’t fallen. Sellers are betting rates drop before their patience runs out, and the Fed raised in September. Apartment owners feel both sides of that 7.40%. In Atlanta, owning the median home runs about $2,617 a month. Renting runs $1,895. That’s $722 extra for the privilege of fixing your own water heater. Even at 6%, owning still costs $447 more. The gap closes at a 3.49% mortgage, or if prices fall 28%. The same rate also reprices owners’ debt. If your loan floats and your submarket is still cutting rents, the rate filling your apartments is also eating your cash flow.