A new report highlights a growing trend: homebuyers backing out of contracts at elevated rates. (Link in comments below).  In some metros, cancellations are running above 9–10%, including:  Atlanta, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Riverside, and Phoenix.  
When a buyer cancels, the seller doesn’t just “go back on the market.”  They lose time.  They lose negotiating leverage.  And sometimes, they lose their next purchase.  Many of these homeowners become what I call accidental/reluctant landlords.  The property doesn’t sell.  Payments still exist.  Insurance, taxes, maintenance. . .all still ticking.  Now, they’re far more open to alternatives they would have rejected 3 or 4 months ago.  This is exactly where creative investing strategies outperform conventional approaches.  
𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐭𝐨-𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
When retail demand softens and buyers hesitate, creativity becomes a competitive advantage.  Many investors and buyers don’t know how to structure these deals. Most agents don’t know how to present them.  Most sellers don’t realize they’re even an option.  That knowledge gap is where opportunity lives.  The investors who understand how to work 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 sellers, 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 with sellers, not against them, are the ones who will close deals in this cycle.