Real Estate Sale Status Terms can vary in meaning from location to location and are often just plain confusing. Here are simple explanations of some of the most common real estate sale status terms used in Northern California sales transactions.
A property is listed on the date the seller signs an agreement with a broker to sell it. Under recent rule changes, sellers in some areas may now instruct their broker to either begin marketing the property immediately or to delay marketing until a future date. When marketing begins at a later date, the sales status is Coming Soon.
For more about Listing types (e.g. exclusive, open, pocket, etc.), see Real Estate Listing Types Explained.
A property is Active when it is placed on the market for sale. Some brokers and Multiple Listing Services (MLS) use additional sub-categories of Active, such as these:
New: Sometimes used to identify properties that have been on the market for just a short time, usually around seven days.
Active – BOM: Property was under contract to be sold, but the sale was cancelled and the property is back on the market.
Active – REO: The property is owned by a lender, usually acquired by the lender through foreclosure.
Active – SS: Designates a property being sold as a Short Sale requiring special transaction processing.
Sold can have two vastly different definitions – ask your broker which one applies where your property is located.
Sold may mean that buyer and seller have executed a sale contract, even if that contract includes an escrow period and change of ownership doesn’t occur until a future date.
In some areas, Sold means that escrow has closed, change of ownership has been completed and the buyer is now in possession of the property.
A property is Contingent when a sales contract has been signed that contains one or more contingencies that must be satisfied before the sale may close. The most common contingencies are completion of inspections, performance of repairs, and approval of buyer financing. There are four common sub-categories for Contingent:
Contingent – Show: The property is available to show and contract contingencies are still in effect.
Contingent – No Show: Contract contingencies are still in place, but the seller no longer wants brokers to show the property to potential buyers.
Contingent – Release: Contingencies have been either satisfied or waived by the buyer or the contractual contingency release period has expired.
Pending is a status often used either when there are no contingencies in the purchase contract or when all contingencies have been satisfied or released. Three common Pending sub-categories are:
The Cancelled status refers to the listing contract between the seller and the listing broker, not to cancellation of a purchase agreement with a buyer.
The Expired status refers to the listing contract between the seller and the listing broker. Almost all listing agreements have expiration dates and automatically expire unless seller and broker execute an extension.
Here are some of the most common status terms used in three of the real estate markets served by Cordon Real Estate. Variations and sub-categories of these terms may also be used based upon the type of property and circumstances relating to a specific sale. All terms are subject to change.
I hope these explanations of real estate sale status terms was helpful. If you have any questions regarding real estate buying, selling or investment, drop me a line!
John aggressively represents buyers and sellers of fine homes, land and investment properties in the San Francisco Bay Area (Wine Country/North Bay, East Bay and Silicon Valley. > Read More About Cordon Real Estate…
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