New Orleans Real Estate Listing Status
A lot of time and effort goes into the analysis of the New Orleans real estate market each month. But, if you are not a real estate geek (like me) or have lived in another part of the country where the terms used are different, then some of it may seem like Greek to you.
Here is a quick and easy primer on the varied real estate listing status used in our market reports:
Active – currently listed for sale in the MLS (multiple listing service – a central database of all property in an area listed by real estate professionals)
Pending – an offer has been accepted on the property, but the seller is continuing to allow potential buyers to view the property in hopes of getting a backup offer. Typically, this status means that inspections and the appraisal have not been completed yet. In some cases, sellers are not 100% warm and fuzzy that the contract will make it to closing and want to hedge their bets a bit by continuing to show the property up until they receive a clear to close from the buyers mortgage company. A special note to sellers: When there is a large number of homes for sale most agents will not show a property that is in a pending status to avoid disappointing their buyers.
Open Predication – an offer has been accepted on the property, but the buyers are still trying to sell their existing home – in some other areas this is known as a contingency. Usually a predicated offer has terms that give the buyers a specific amount of time to sell their home and/or to remove the predication if another acceptable offer comes in. During the period of the predication, the seller will allow showings to other qualified buyers.
Under contract – an offer has been accepted on the property and the seller is not allowing showings. Things happen though, so if the house you’ve had your eye on is “under contract”, ask your agent to keep you updated in case it comes back on the market.
Closed – the sale has been completed and the property has been transferred to the new owners.
Not so hard, right? Stay tuned for the next real estate lingo lesson, coming soon.
