What you need to know about each status and where it fits into your selling timeline
By Laura Wehnes
When you are selling your home, there are many things you are trying to figure out. You are making decisions about what you need to do to your home to sell it, how much you can list your home for, where you are going to move, what you are going to take with you, and what you are going to get rid of. On top of all these decisions, you are also trying to understand the whole process of listing and selling your home. From a listing standpoint, this means having to understand the different statuses of your home throughout the selling process and what each of them means for you. These can be difficult to navigate, so this is what you need to know about each status, plus the benefits and setbacks of each.
Before I get into the details, you may want to know where these rules came from and why they exist in the first place. In 2020, the National Association of Realtors® passed the Clear Cooperation Policy. This policy was designed to make homes available to the public when the property is marketed to the public and to make it fair for all buyers. In some states, the listing broker must submit the listing to the multiple listing service (MLS) for all participating brokers within one day of a home being marketed to the public, I.e., marketing via social media, a sign in the yard, flyers, etc.
The first thing to know about the listing statuses is that there are three statuses that your home can be entered into in the MLS under. These statuses include:
Withheld
Coming soon
Active
Once your listing agreement with your agent is signed, your property must be entered into the MLS within five days and will be put into one of these statuses.
Withheld Status
The first status is the withheld status. If you still have some work left to do on your house and have not decided on a final price yet, this is likely the first status your home will be put into in the MLS. There is no time limit when your home is in this status. Your home will only be visible in the MLS to the brokerage you choose to list with. It will not be exposed to the public yet. The only required fields to enter in the MLS in this status are the city and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
While in withheld status, your agent does have the ability to share your listing with clients that they have an agency relationship with. This can be a benefit for sellers who are looking to sell their home quickly or looking for a sale with few people going through the home. You have the choice to show your home while in this status. Therefore, this is not the best option for someone who is looking for maximum exposure in the market. If there is a social media post, a sign in the yard, flyers, or any other marketing to the public, the status has to change out of withheld status into either coming soon or active status within one business day.
Coming Soon Status
The next status is the coming soon status, which is used for homes that are not quite ready to be shown. A home must go into this status within five days of a listing agreement being signed or within one business day after a home is marketed to the public. Homes can only remain in this status for 21 days. After this, the house will automatically move to active status in the MLS.
When your home is in coming soon status, it cannot be shown to buyers. It can, however, be marketed to the public via the internet, social media, text blasts, emails, mailers, for sale signs, and any other means you and your agent decide to market the property to sell it. This will generate some interest in your property while you are putting the final touches on it. In my professional opinion, you really don’t want to be in this status for more than two weeks at the most. After that, the excitement tends to lessen, and people wonder why there is such a delay.
Although you can’t show your home during this time, your agent may receive a sight-unseen offer, which may happen in the current market. Your agent has an ethical obligation to present these offers to you. If you receive a sight-unseen offer, you and your agent can make the decision on how you want to proceed.
Active Status
Finally, there is the active status of a home. This is straightforward. Once in this status, your agent can start the showing process on your home. When your home is active, all the pictures of your home should be on the listing, you should have your disclosures completed, all the information about your home should be in the multiple listing service, and you should be ready to start receiving showing requests. You and your agent should have a plan constructed on how you are going to approach multiple offers. You should have a plan of where you are going to be moving once you close on your home.
In this status, your home will have maximum exposure and showings to qualified buyers. You should be prepared to be out of your home for much of the day on the first couple of days of showings. Staying with a friend or family member or taking a weekend trip may be a good option to allow all the potential buyers the opportunity to preview your home.
While you may not use every one of these statuses, you should know your options and what each means for your home. Selling in this market can be very profitable and exciting, but it is important to work with a professional to help you navigate all your options and get you to the closing table.
If you are thinking about moving and want help with a customized plan to sell your home, call or text us at 314-608-2299 or email us at laurabw@kw.com.