There are a few options in our local multiple list system (MLS) for letting the public know about a property for sale.
These different statuses can become confusing as they are disseminated across the different online search platforms, so here’s a breakdown to help understand when a property is available to go see and make an offer.
Sellers can choose to list in a “pre-listing” status known as Coming Soon. The local MLS allows this status to be used for up to 21 days. This is a way to create buzz around a property that will be available for showings soon, but property listed in Coming Soon may not be actively shown to buyers.
Most Coming Soon listings will not automatically be syndicated to the major online real estate search engines such as Zillow and Realtor.com. Zillow does have the option to show Coming Soon properties, but not all agents have access to this feature so many times their site will not have the majority of Coming Soon properties that are in the MLS—so it’s a good idea to ask your local realtor to set up a search for you to get these listings.
Once the listing is moved to Active status, then showings may occur to the public. This is also when the property for sale will show up across all online platforms as “For Sale”.
When a property receives an offer, and all of the contract documents are signed and delivered, a list agent/office can mark the property in either Active Under Contract status or Pending status.
Usually if the Active Under Contract status is chosen, this implies that the seller is still willing to honor showings on the property, but they already have a contract in place, and any other offers would be considered as back up offers.
This status is also used because there are certain contingencies, such as home inspection, financing contingency and/or HOA/Condo doc review period. Once these contingencies have been met, the property is supposed to be put into Pending status.
When a property is marked in the Pending status, this implies that the seller has a contract in place, and they do not wish to honor any additional showings. Sometimes there are still contingencies to be met on Pending status listings. The two major online real estate search engines mark listings differently—when using Zillow, you will see properties marked with either Under Contract or Pending, and on Realtor.com, you will see either Contingent or Pending.
Lauren Bunting is a Broker with Keller Williams Realty of Delmarva in Ocean City, Maryland.
