When you view homes on this website or any other website that displays San Diego homes and condos for sale, you will probably see that some of the listings are labeled as ACTIVE, CONTINGENT or PENDING. It’s important to understand what each of these categories mean, so that you can make the best use of your time when viewing homes online.
ACTIVE
Whether a listing is ACTIVE, CONTINGENT or PENDING, is usually denoted at the top of a listing page. If a property is listed as ACTIVE, this means that the home or condo is still available for sale.
CONTINGENT
A property listed as CONTINGENT will still appear on most websites. The CONTINGENT status is a new category developed for use in 2009 for the San Diego MLS. Unlike the ACTIVE category, the CONTINGENT category means that the home or condo is not currently available for sale. In most cases, the CONTINGENT status is used when an offer has been accepted by the seller, but the seller is not the final decision-maker of the property.
For example, in a short-sale situation, a seller owes more on the property than it will sell for now. All offers received on a short-sale home not only require approval by the seller, but also have to be sent to the seller’s bank for review. The seller’s bank will review the offers on a property, and then determine if they are willing and able to sell the property at a loss. The status of a property will change from ACTIVE to CONTINGENT, when a seller accepts the best offer, and forwards the offer to their bank. The property will remain in the CONTINGENT category until the seller’s bank either accepts or rejects the offer at hand. The seller will not normally accept any other offers while waiting the bank’s response. The CONTINGENT category is also used in probate cases where a court has to review all offers. In addition, this category is sometimes used for bank-owned properties (commonly called REOs), since the response time of a bank to multiple offers on a property can be slow.
PENDING
The PENDING category is used when an offer has been accepted by the seller and no other third-party approvals are required. When a property enters the PENDING stage, this means that the Escrow process will begin, and common tasks such as home inspections, the appraisal, and loan processing are underway. Most properties remain in the PENDING stage for about 30-60 days, and most conclude in a successful sale. If problems with the buyer’s loan or problems in the property’s condition appear during the PENDING period, it’s possible that the seller or buyer may cancel the contract and the property will once again be available for sale (i.e. returned to the ACTIVE category).
KEY POINT
If you are considering buying a home or condo, focus only on properties listed as ACTIVE. Properties listed as CONTINGENT OR PENDING are not really available for sale. If you have any questions about the status of a home or condo, please let me know what information you need by using the form below.
