the Multiple Listing Service of Southern Arizona (MLSSAZ) begins to implement the changes to the MLS system that I referred to last week.
In that same post I reviewed the changes to North area boundaries and today would like to cover the changes to the status of listings.
From the MLSSAZ;
Statuses & Status Definitions
Statuses will be updated to better reflect the traditional listing life cycle. The first update will be the removal of the Active CAPA status. CAPA was initially put in place to indicate a kick-out clause specified in the purchase contract. With the changes in the market after 2008, the usefulness of the CAPA status diminished and became confusing to agents.
Several new Contingent statuses will be added to increase the information regarding the specific contingency and the availability of a property.
- Active – Active properties with no offers or contingencies.
- Online Offers Only - Used for any property where offers are submitted online, such as online auctions.
- Active Contingent – An offer has been accepted but the seller is still permitting showing appointments and is accepting backup offers.
- Pending Short Sale Approval – seller has accepted an offer and is awaiting short sale approval from the lender.
- Signature Pending – Seller has verbally accepted an offer and is pending a signature(s).
- Cancellation Provision – There is a provision to cancel the current offer with a replacement offer.
- Pending – An offer has been accepted and the seller is not allowing showing appointments or backup offers.
- Temp Off Market – The seller has requested that the property be temporarily taken off market. Listing may be brought back on market without a new listing agreement.
- Expired – Listing agreement has expired.
- Canceled – Listing agreement has been canceled.
- Closed – Property has been sold.
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Big change is the addition of new contingent statuses. Particularly that the MLSSAZ is now going to officially recognize and kind of ‘bless’ the use of verbal offers. While verbal offers have always been around and used occasionally, they’ve never been officially recognized as being worth anything. It’s likely that the new Signature Pending status will tend to make verbal offers more acceptable and at least somewhat credible and they’ll probably be used more often than they were in the past.
Verbal offers are particularly handy (like now) when homes are selling quickly and you want to get an offer in before anyone else and you can’t afford the delay of getting everything written up, signed and delivered. Conversely, they’re also handy when a buyer wants to make an offer that has a low probability of being accepted, e.g., an offer that is way below list price (a so-called low-ball), and doesn't want to go thru the rigmarole of writing everything up only to have it instantly rejected.
**Donna Anderson, an agent at Long Realty, made a point in the comments section that I should have included. That is that - regardless of the fact that verbal offers will now be recognized by the MLSSAZ - Verbal offers are not enforceable; all contracts to be enforced still must be in writing. Absolutely true. So if you enter a verbal agreement it is necessary for the buyer and seller to reduce it to writing asap in order for it to be enforceable.
Interesting times in Tucson real estate.
see TheFoothillsToday.com
to find your very own Catalina Foothills Home