How often do contingent offers fall through? What you should know

If you're considering making a contingent offer on a home, your purchase agreement or contract might include legal clauses that state that certain requirements need to be met for the sale to be completed. These contingencies can be related to inspections, appraisals, financing, or even the sale of your current property.

Understanding the different types of contingencies and how and why they fall through can help you be a more informed buyer and give you greater confidence and peace of mind during the process.

Here we'll walk you through how frequently contingent offers fall through, what a contingent offer means, and the common types of contingent offers.

How many contingent offers fall through?

If you're curious about how often contingent offers fall through, according to August 2025 statistics from Redfin, there was a home sale cancellations surge: A record rate of 56,000 contracts on homes were terminated. This represents about 15% of homes under contract.

Of the agents surveyed, about 70% responded that repair or home inspection issues caused the sale of the home to fall through. This was followed by buyer financing falling through (27.8%), followed by the buyer being unable to sell their current home (21%), followed by a change in the buyer's financial situation (14.9%).

Common types of contingent offers

Some of the most common types of offer contingencies are a home inspection contingency, a home sale contingency, an appraisal contingency, a mortgage contingency and a title contingency.

Let's look at each type of contingency, why buyers tend to include these contingencies, and how each contingency may offer a unique benefit – and ease any qualms. 

Home inspection contingency

A homeinspection contingency lets the buyer hire a professional to check the house before closing. If the inspector finds a concern, like a damaged roof or bad plumbing, the buyer can back out of the deal and keep their deposit. This gives buyers some protection in case the home needs expensive repairs they didn’t know about.

While most homes turn up minor issues during an inspection, like a loose railing or aging appliances, if the buyer includes this contingency, some problems may be serious enough to cancel the sale.

Structural issues like foundation cracks, outdated or unsafe electrical systems, roof or basement leaks, and significant water damage can all raise red flags. HVAC or plumbing problems can also impact a buyer’s decision to move forward.

For this reason, it’s a good idea for both buyers and sellers to know what an inspection could find and how it can impact the sale of the home.

So, if you’re planning to sell your home, getting a seller’s pre-inspection can help you catch any major issues early. That way, you’re less likely to face big surprises.

Home sale contingency

A home sale contingency is included in an offer when the prospective buyer wants to sell their home before they close on the new home.

This type of contingency usually includes a window of time when the buyer anticipates selling their home. If the buyer doesn’t receive an offer by the time the contingency closes, the prospective buyer can decide they wish to revoke their offer. What's more, both parties may agree to extend the timeline in which the buyer can sell their home.

A home sale contingency may pose a risk for the seller, as they'll need to wait for the sale of the buyer’s home – and there is no guarantee the home will sell. Sellers may choose not to accept an offer contingent on the sale of the buyer’s home if the market favors the seller.

It can also stretch out how long it takes to sell a house. As of early 2026, the typical U.S. home spent 64 days on the market before going under contract, and with a contingency, it can take longer.

The buyer might include akick-out clause in the contract if they’re trying to sell their home at the same time. This lets the seller accept an offer from a buyer that has a home sale contingency while they continue to market the home to other buyers. Should the seller receive another offer, the seller can "kick out" the first buyer if they don't waive their contingency.

On the buyer's side, it can provide peace of mind to those who don't want to buy another property before their current one sells. This way they don’t have to take on two mortgages at the same time.

Appraisal contingency

After the buyer and sellernegotiate and agree on a price for the home, the buyer’s lender will usually order anappraisal to confirm the home is worth the agreed-upon amount. If the appraisal comes in below the sale price, it can disrupt the deal. This is usually because most lenders won’t approve a home loan for more than the home’s appraised value.

Buyers can protect themselves from a low appraisal and include anappraisal contingency in their offer. Including this clause allows them to walk away from the contract without forfeiting theirearnest money if theappraisal comes in lower than expected.

If the seller won’t lower the price, the buyer can choose to pay the difference out of pocket to cover the financing gap. However, some buyers may not want to pay more than what the home is truly worth.

Low appraisals are typically more common in competitive markets with bidding wars, fast-rising prices, or limited comparable sales.

Title contingency

Before a home can be sold to a new buyer, the title company is required to do a title search, where it thoroughly researches the chain of title to make sure that all past owners are properly documented.

The title company also is responsible for finding any potential issues such as liens against the home, which must be paid before the property can close.

A lien on a property shows that someone else – a contractor, taxing authority, or even another bank or lender – has ownership interest in that property. It's a legal claim and reveals that there's an unpaid debt or obligation.

Should any issues pop up during the title search, and the sale has a title contingency, then the buyer can back out of the sale. That, or the seller must remediate the issue to move the sale forward.

Mortgage contingency

Financing issues are another common culprit. Even if a buyer is preapproved, final mortgage approval can still fall through at the last minute. This is why a mortgage contingency is important. It allows the buyer to cancel the deal without penalty and get their earnest money back if they cannot secure financing within a specified timeframe.

Once a seller accepts the offer, the buyer's lender begins the final underwriting process. At this point in the process, the lender will take a deep dive into the buyer's financial situation and review things like:

• Credit score
• Credit report
• Proof of income
• Debt-to-income ratio (DTI)

Because buying a home can take time, these financial details can change quickly. If a buyer starts purchasing furniture on credit, for example, their DTI could increase, since the buyer is taking on more debt.

Or let's say the buyer loses their job or misses a payment, both of which could raise alarms for the lender and harm their chances offinal mortgage approval.

That’s why it’s so important for buyers to be careful with their finances during the home-buying process. It might be tempting to start shopping for furniture, but big purchases or new debt can hurt your loan approval.

What happens if a contingent offer falls through?

If the contingency or contingencies in the offer aren’t met, then the sale won’t close. Let's say if a contingency hasn't been met – the buyer’s home doesn’t sell, the appraisal comes back low, the inspection reveals major issues, or the title isn’t clear – then the buyer can back out of the deal without losing their earnest money or the worry of legal action.

A contingent offer can be a risk for sellers, as it can mean potential delays, a level of uncertainty, and potential cancellation of the deal. Plus, sellers may miss more lucrative offers from other buyers, depending on the market conditions and other factors.

FAQ

Can a seller back out of a contingent offer?

Yes, but it depends on the details of thereal estate purchase agreement. If a buyer can’t follow through on a contingency like lining up financing or closing on their other home, the seller can opt to cancel the deal and move to thebackup offer.

In some cases, the buyer might include a kick-out clause in the contract if they’re trying to sell their home at the same time. This clause allows the seller to continue showing the property. If another offer comes in, the buyer must either remove their contingency or allow the sale to be canceled.

Can a seller accept another offer while their property is contingent?

Yes, sellers can accept a backup offer. However, they can’t act on it unless the first offer falls through or the buyer misses a key deadline.

How long are most contingent offers?

Contingencies generally give buyers 30 – 60 days to meet their conditions. In some cases, though, the buyer might be given a little more time if, for example, they need to sell their current home before closing on the new one.

At what point do most house sales fall through?

Most home sales that fall through do so because of financing issues or problems uncovered during the inspection. That’s usually when unexpected issues pop up, like costly repairs or problems with the buyer's home loan approval. If those issues can’t be sorted out, either the buyer or seller may decide to not move forward with the contract.

The bottom line: Contingent but confident

While contingencies exist to offer protection and peace of mind for the buyer sellers may feel that accepting contracts with a contingency tacked onto them puts them in a risky position. Sellers can mitigate that risk by accepting backup offers in case certain contingencies aren’t met.

If you’re ready to begin your home search, you can get preapproved for a loan with Rocket Mortgage.