Pending, Active Under Contract or Undisclosed Contract?

It is a brisk market; and after years of sellers’ market conditions, agents are accustomed to the speed that homes can sell. Listings can be changed to “pending” within hours of hitting the market. However, not all listings are updated quickly when an offer is accepted.



According to Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the National Association of Realtors, Article 3, Standard of Practice 3-6:  Realtors shall disclose the existence of accepted offers, including offers with unresolved contingencies, to any broker seeking cooperation.

In other words, showing agents should be notified of an accepted offer prior to showing a property. This can be done with these two status choices in Bright MLS:

ACTIVE UNDER CONTRACT
Properties in which:

• Listing has an accepted contract (Agreement of Sale) with contingencies.
• Property is available to show and accept backup offers with contingencies.
• DOM/CDOM does not accumulate.

PENDING
Listings of property in which:

• Listing has an accepted contract (Agreement of Sale) and has not closed.
• Seller does not want any more showings or backup offers.
• DOM/CDOM is paused and will not accumulate while in this status.

At the very least, if a showing is scheduled prior to the status change in Bright MLS, the showing agent should be notified by phone, text or email of the existence of an accepted offer. A quick way to make sure no showings slip through the cracks is to immediately update the showing instructions in ShowingTime to “Refer to Listing Agent”. The appointment staff will log the details of the appointment request and inform the agent that the listing agent manages appointments. Or Showing Desk can mark it as “No More Showings”, and you will not be notified of the appointment requests. In addition, once an offer is accepted, if showings are to be discontinued, make sure you cancel any scheduled showings as soon as possible.

Lisa Naples, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices HomeSale Realty

Facts, opinions and information expressed in the Closing Comments Blog represent the work of the author and are believed to be accurate, but are not guaranteed. The Lancaster County Association of Realtors® is not liable for any potential errors, omissions or outdated information. If errors are noted within a post, please notify the Association. Posts represent the author’s opinion and are not necessarily the opinion of the Association.