SALT LAKE CITY — The rate of homes changing hands in the United States is at the lowest point since the 1990s.
The rate, defined as the number of homes sold divided by the total number of sellable homes, hit 2.8% in the first nine months of 2025, according to a new analysis by Redfin, a Seattle-based online brokerage.
The analysis looked at data from real estate listings and county records back to 2012, but Redfin said it “can confidently say this year’s 2.8% turnover rate is the lowest since at least the early-mid 1990s” because home sales then were similar despite there being fewer properties.
Just how low is the rate of 28 of every 1,000 homes getting a new owner? During the COVID-19 pandemic buying frenzy, 44 of every 1,000 homes turned over. In 2019, the year before the pandemic started, the rate was 40 of every 1,000.
So why are so few homes being sold? Here’s what Redfin says is to blame:
- Affordability challenges. High prices and mortgage rates are keeping would-be buyers on the sidelines, with sellers continuing to outnumber buyers.
- Homeowners don’t want to give up their low mortgage rates. More than 70% of Americans with a mortgage have a rate below 5%. While mortgage rates appear to be heading down, they remain above 6%.
- Economic uncertainty. Job insecurity, inflation and “broader instability” are causing buyers nationwide to hold back.
That’s happening in Utah, too. A new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found a slim majority of Utahns are less likely to buy a house or make another major purchase this year because of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.
Both buyers and sellers are hesitating, Chen Zhao, Redfin’s head of economics research, said.
“America’s housing market is defined right now by caution,” she said in a post. “Buyers are walking away from deals more often, sometimes due to affordability issues and sometimes because they’re re-evaluating whether now is the right moment to commit.”
Zhao said other buyers are waiting “for prices or mortgage rates to come down. On the other side, many sellers are staying put — either because they’re locked into low rates or unwilling to accept offers below expectations. When both sides hesitate, sales naturally fall to historic lows.”
Among the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas — all located outside of Utah — Redfin said New York City had the lowest turnover rate, with only about 10 out of every 1,000 homes selling this year through September.
Four California cities were close behind New York City: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and Anaheim. But Virginia Beach, Virginia, had a turnover rate of about 35 out of every 1,000 homes, the highest, trailed by West Palm Beach and Tampa in Florida, Indianapolis and Atlanta.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
