“Trulia says it is, so does Zillow and (insert website here).  What do you mean that it’s under contract?  I JUST looked it up!”

Sound like something you’ve heard before? Yeah, me too.  It’s frustrating for all of us, especially you. The lingo is something that I’m familiar with but often goes unexplained to the public at large.  Every day someone asks what does a status mean, how can it still be showing up everywhere if it isn’t really “available”?

Here’s a little explanation of all those codes and their meaning:

• Active – this means that there are currently no accepted offers noted          
• Active Contingent – there is an accepted offer and is dependent on a contingency (ex, inspection)
• Active Contingent Short Sale – there is an accepted offer pending seller’s lender approval
• Pending – seller has accepted an offer and is pending close
• Withdrawn – the seller or agent has pulled the home from the market for some reason (could be anything)
• Expired – the listing agreement expired and the seller may or may not be interested in selling
• Terminated – either seller or agent terminated the listing agreement for some reason

Homes that are Active Contingent (AC) or Active Contingent Short Sale (ACSS) are usually still available for showing and will accept backup offers conditioned on the release of the first offer. Sometimes a home that has been withdrawn, terminated or expired will still be available for sale depending on the circumstances.  If a terminated listing was a short sale that usually means it has gone to foreclosure and may emerge as a new listing at a later date.

The reason you’ll still see properties that are pending, AC, ACSS or even expired/withdrawn on websites like Trulia & Zillow is because they are third party vendors (called aggregators) that most agents syndicate their listings to but do not get automatically updated.  If the agent does not have a presence on any of those places it’s likely they won’t go in to change any of the information.

How DO you know if a property is available?  Call me.  Email me.  I’ll check it out. Another great way to keep up with all of the status changes is to create a Listingbook account.  This is the closest I can get you to MLS access without being an agent.  Best part – it’s free to you!!

If you do have questions about how buying or selling a Cape Coral home works and you want the unvarnished truth let me know.