Deciphering the Phoenix MLS
Posted on August 25th, 2007 by Jonathan Dalton
Active. Pending. Active with Contingencies.
The Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, or ARMLS, has a number of different categories into which homes for sale are sorted. Some are pretty straight-forward, assuming the listing agents keep everything updated: Active means the property’s on the market and there has not been an accepted offer, Sold means the property sold, Expired means the listing period ended without a sale.
But other categories, particularly those dealing with homes under contract, are a little less clear. And the situation is further complicated by ARMLS’s days on market counter:
Pending - the home is under contract and is pending sale. Pending sales are the x-factor in almost all market calculations you see, including my own absorption rate figures. They’re not active. They’re not sold. They’re in limbo somewhere in between. Maybe they’ll make it to sold. Maybe not.
Active with Contingencies - this means that a contract has been accepted but there are some sort of contingencies attached that will need to be cleared. And there are three sub-categories for AWC:
- AWC-C is the most common, that the sale is contingent upon the buyer selling their own home.
- AWC-I is next. This means that the seller has provided written instructions to the listing agent to leave the home as Active in the MLS (more on this in a minute.)
- Least frequent - so much so that I had to look it up - is AWC-O, which means there’s an existing option to purchase the home.
One challenge with posting a home as Active with Contingencies is the days on market continue to accrue. This isn’t the case with a Pending listing. And in reality, there’s not a high likelihood of a home in AWC status being shown. So if DOM-conscious sellers have a contract, and it’s not contingent upon the sale of the buyers’ house, it could be to their detriment to post a home as AWC based on their own written instruction.
Also, the wording for Active with Contingencies - while a bit more specific than the old UCB status (Under Contract, accepting Backups) - remains poor.
There are almost always contingencies attached to a purchase contract for everything from the appraisal to securing the loan to the inspection period. Even homes listed as Pending likely have not had all these contingencies cleared because some don’t clear until the final days before the close of escrow.
Temporarily Off Market - the owners have taken the home off the market before the expiration of their agreement with the listing agent.
As always, if you have questions about what you’re seeing, drop me a line and I’ll answer whatever I can.
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