Listing Status: What Does it Mean?

When you look at a listing for a home to sale, you should take note of its listing status. Most homes currently available for purchase are listed as Active; this mean the home seller is accepting offers from buyers.

However, there are many different listing statuses, which can vary in meaning from one location to the next. Let's go through all of the different listing statuses you can expect to see in the Boston-area market. If you'd like to see status definitions for other markets, select a different city from the drop-menu at the bottom of the far left column.

• Active: As stated above, an Active status means that the home is available for purchase, and the seller is accepting offers. This is usually the most common type of listing in your local MLS.
  
  
• Back on Market: This listing expired or the sellers accepted an offer that fell through, so it's now back on the market and active for sale.
  
  
• Cancelled: The listing has been taken off the market by the seller. This is often because the seller has decided not to sell the home after all, or has decided to find a new listing agent. Some sellers cancel their listings, wait a month or two, and then re-list it in an effort to make their home look like a new listing again; new listings typically attract more buyer attention than old, stale listings.
  
  
• Expired: When a homeowner contracts a listing agent to sell their home, that relationship usually has a pre-set expiration date. A listing that has expired has reached that date. The seller may re-up with the same agent, try a new agent, or give up selling the home altogether.
  
  
• Extended: This listing is for sale, but marked extended in the MLS by the listing agent because the house didn't sell during the original listing period. The sellers of this home gave written consent to extend the listing period and are accepting offers.
  
  
• New: This is an Active listing that has only recently come onto the market, usually within the past seven days.
  
  
• Price Changed: Just like it sounds, this is a listing for which the price has changed, usually within the past seven days. Note that this price change may be an increase or a decrease.
  
  
• Reactivated: This listing was off the market, but recently reactivated and is now active for sale.
  
  
• Sold: This home has been purchased by another buyer. It is no longer for sale.
  
  
• Temporarily Withdrawn: This listing has been taken off the market by the seller, but will probably be available again at some point. Sellers sometimes withdraw their listings to consider a new selling strategy, or to make repairs and improvements to the home before taking another shot at selling. Or, the seller may simply be going on vacation or feeling under the weather.
  
  
• Under Agreement: This listing has an accepted offer, but the buyers may still need to get financing for a successful closing.
  
  
• + (Accepted Offer to Purchase): This phrase may be attached to the end of another status, such as Active, Extended, New, Price Changed, or Reactivated. It means that the sellers have accepted an offer for this home, but they may still be looking for backup offers and are continuing to let other buyers tour the home.
  
  
• + (Kick-Out/First Right of Refusal): This phrase may be attached to the end of another status, such as Active, Extended, New, Price Changed, or Reactivated. It means that the sellers have received an offer, but are keeping the home available for touring and may accept a backup offer in case the current buyers decide not to close. If another offer comes in, it's up to the buyers to decide whether or not to continue with the purchase. In short, the seller gives the buyer the first right to refuse a potential backup offer.