MLS Statuses

The majority of MLS rules mandate that participants report listings' statuses truthfully and immediately, as soon as there is a change. Within three days, all status updates must be provided in NTREIS MLS. The North Texas Real Estate Information System (NTREIS) MLS status codes and their explanations are listed below.

The number of Days on Market (DOM) in Matrix MLS begins to accumulate once the listing is in an "Active" status. The system looks at the List Date and will continue to add days to the total DOM until the property is changed to an "Off-Market" status.

• Active Statuses include: Active, Active Contingent, Active Kick-Out, and Active Option.
  
  

• Off-Market Statuses include: Coming Soon, Hold, Pending, Expired, Withdrawn and Cancelled.

Coming Soon - CS –  At the Seller’s request a property may be entered into the Coming Soon status to prepare the home for showings, needed repairs, or legal matters.  A listing may remain in the Coming Soon status for no more than thirty (30) days. Once the listing has been in the Coming Soon Status for thirty (30) days, the listing must be changed to Active prior to a change to any other status. If no status change is made after thirty (30) days, the listing will automatically enter the HOLD (Temporarily Off Market) status based on the original entry timestamp. Coming Soon Listings are only available to MLS Participants and are not distributed to 3rd parties like Zillow, Realtor.com or other websites. NO SHOWINGS of properties in the Coming Soon status are allowed. That is PROHIBITED.  

"Active" - A - indicates the property has been listed for sale.

"Active Option Contract" - AOC - The property remains accessible for backup contracts and showings. There is a contract on the property with an option to terminate. Once the option expires, the status must be updated.

"Active Contingent" - AC - The property remains available for showings and backup contracts. Property is under contract with some type of contingency. A contingency basically gives the buyer a way to get out of the contract based on some type of condition or status. Contingencies can be nearly anything, not just the "sale of other property." Common contingencies include financing, inspections, the need for lender permission (such in a short sale), and the sale of other property. This status should be used until all necessary contingency milestones have been passed. In the event of finance, this might continue all the way to closing.

"Active Kick Out" - AKO - Showings and contracts are still allowed for this property. The property is under contract with a Contingency for Sale of Other Property with a Kick Out Provision. This status should be used until the contingency has been satisfied. The "kick-out" provision essentially allows the current buyer that is under contract to have right of first refusal if a second offer comes in that the seller wants to consider. The buyer can waive their contingency to sell their other home and lock in the contract as Pending or if they are unsure that they can sell their other home, they would have the ability to terminate and let a new buyer go under contract with the seller. (This is not legal advice, but a high-level explanation.)

"Pending" - PND - There are no more showings for this property since it is under contract and heading to closing. If there is a contract with a contingency or kick-out, using the Pending status early is not illegal, but it will almost completely remove the chance of getting any backup offers. This status should normally only be used when you are only waiting for closing after all contingencies have been satisfied. The only status that will remain valid beyond the expiration date is Pending; however, the expiration date needs to be extended for the duration that this listing is pending. 

"Hold" - HOLD (previously known as "Temporarily Off the Market") This status should be used when the owner wants to temporarily stop showings for this listing. This can be the result of renovations or repairs, owner illness, or other factors. It is anticipated that this would only last temporarily and that the listing will eventually revert to its original state—Active, perhaps. When the property is in the HOLD status, DOM and CDOM are stopped from accumulating.

"Withdrawn" – WTH – The property is essentially off the market and is not available for showings at this time. Until it expires, the listing broker is still the owner of the listing. It cannot be listed till it expires by another broker. This status is usually applied when the broker does not want to release the listing until it expires and the seller decides not to sell the house. DOM and CDOM keep building up as long as the property is in the WTH state.

"Expired" - EXP When a listing expires, its status automatically changes to "Expired" (EXP) depending on the expiration data that the listing broker has submitted into the MLS. Following the expiration of the listing, DOM and CDOM cease counting.

"Cancelled" - CAN - The listing is subsequently canceled in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) once the seller and listing broker agree to end it. The listing is being released without any conditions, and another broker may list it in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). DOM and CDOM count ceases upon cancellation of the listing.

"Sold" - SLD - indicates that the property has been bought or sold. When the listing is sold, DOM and CDOM cease to count. Within three days, all status updates must be recorded in the MLS.

Taken from the newsletter published by the Texas Association of REALTORS® (TAR).

A listing has a contract that is pending. Because he thinks other agents won't be likely to present the listing for backups if its status is changed to "pending" or "pending under option" or any other suitable status description in our MLS, the listing agent wants to keep the property listed as "active" in the MLS. Does this violate any MLS rules? (Revised February 6, 2008)

The majority of MLS regulations mandate that participants report listings' statuses truthfully and immediately, as soon as there is a change. If the pending status of a contract on the property is not promptly reported to reflect the correct status designation required by those regulations, the listing agent is probably in violation of the MLS rules. Certain homes may have pending contracts on them, which some purchasers may find interesting, but others may not want to examine those properties. It would be unjust to mislead customers about the actual status of homes listed in the MLS if they are not interested in viewing "pending" listings.

It is a good idea for a buyer's agent to find out if his customers are interested in viewing properties that have contracts in place already.