With active listings across the Mid-Atlantic region sitting at multi-year highs, the spotlight now turns to a sharp spike in canceled home listings, potentially signaling early signs of stress beneath the surface.

According to the latest data from Bright MLS, the leading Multiple Listing Service firm in the Mid-Atlantic area, 481 listings were canceled during the week ending June 8—the highest weekly total in five years. That figure represents a 39.8% increase from the same period last year and is up 32.9% from the previous week.

"Canceled listings see a five-year record high. There were 481 canceled listings in the service area for the week, which is a 39.8% surge over last year and is up 32.9% from last week. Canceled listings were most common in the Philadelphia metro area, where canceled listings were up 60.5% compared to the same week in 2024," MLS wrote in the weekly report. 

Weekly canceled listings for MLS' coverage area. 

What's happening in Philadelphia? 

While new contracts held steady, with 6,924 signed across the region—a 2.4% increase from a year earlier—elevated mortgage rates, continued housing affordability crisis, and a potential slowdown in the economy could reflect growing uncertainty among both buyers and sellers.

Showing activity, often a leading indicator of buyer interest, has remained solid. There were 90,906 showings across the Bright MLS service area, up 2.5% from the same week in 2024, marking the third straight week of year-over-year gains. However, activity lagged in Maryland's Eastern Shore and the MD-WV Panhandle, where year-over-year showings declined.

Despite a steady pace of new contracts and showings across the region, the sudden surge in cancellations suggests sellers may be reevaluating market timing, while buyers appear increasingly cautious amid ongoing concerns over pricing and economic uncertainty.