If you've ever browsed real estate listing sites, then you have probably seen homes that say 'Pending' or 'Sale Pending', but it's not always obvious what that means, and whether the home is totally off the market.
When it comes to homes on the market, there are actually several statuses that they enter during the sale process:
These statuses are entered into the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) by the listing agent to reflect the stage of the home. Other agents (and websites such as Redfin, Zillow, or ZeroDown) are able to access this information through their own subscriptions to MLS feeds.
The easiest two statuses to understand are 'Active' or 'Closed/Sold' which indicate that a home is on the market and accepting offers, or off the market having been sold, respectively.
Statuses such as 'Contingent-Show', or 'Contingent-No Show' indicate that the seller has accepted an offer, but the offer is still waiting to clear an inspection, financing, or other contingency. (See our post: 'What is a Contingency in Real Estate?' for more information). In the case of a 'Contingent-Show' status, the listing agent is indicating that while the seller has accepted an offer, it is not a done deal, and they are still willing to show the home to prospective buyers, in case that offer falls through. 'Contingent-No Show' naturally means then that while the offer the seller accepted is not a done deal, they are not willing to show the home any further.
That leaves us with 'Pending'. It is the general practice for most listing agents to wait until all contingencies to clear before they update the status of a home on the MLS to 'Pending' or 'Sale Pending'. At this point, since all contingencies have been cleared, the sale between the seller and the buyer now is merely pending final steps to closing, and the home is no longer considered as being on the market.
Different MLS' use different terms to indicate the stages of home listed, and there may be differences between regions in how/when statuses are updated by agents. Because of this lack of consistency, many listing websites will normalize homes that have accepted an offer to show 'Sale Pending', regardless of the exact status.
The December 2020 Realtors® Confidence Index Survey found that only 6% of members' contracts ended up falling through. This means that while you should not get your hopes up, if you are serious about the home, you should still let your agent know.
A good agent will be able to clarify whether a home is contingent and/or still accepting showings and will let the listing agent know of your interest should the existing offer fail to clear contingencies, or the contract falls through for another reason. If the seller is taking backup offers, you'll also be able to put your offer in the mix.
Once all buyer/seller contingencies are met, a home moves to a Pending Sale stage. Such a home is no longer considered to be an active listing and remains in such a state till all legal paperwork is completed. This is the final stage of sale, after the completion of which, the home is sold/bought.
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