Like any industry, Real Estate maintains a language of its own, with shorthand jargon and specialized terms used daily by those in the biz. But lingo used by housing professionals can sometimes be confusing when you're shopping for homes. This list might help. Common terms found in home listings, explained in everyday English:
A (Active)
This means the property is on the market, available, and open for offers. Sellers may have received an offer but have not yet accepted it.
A,i (Active, Inspection)
Sellers have accepted an offer contingent on a buyer's inspection of their property. Depending on what's written in the offer, the whole process of inspecting and negotiating based on the results takes about 7-10 days.
A, r (Active, Subject to Statutory Rescission)
The sellers of a condo, townhouse or co-op have accepted an offer which is contingent on the buyers reviewing all association governing documents and financials. After receiving the final document, buyers have 10 days to review them. They can cancel the offer at anytime during this period, for any reason.
A, s (Active, Sale of Another Property)
The sellers have accepted an offer from people who need to sell a home in order to buy a new one. Their buyers are most likely not financially able to own two homes at once. Or, they are but have chosen not to. The listing is still on the market and open for other offers. Depending on what’s written in the offer, the first buyers will have a short time during which to make good on their offer, if they can.
A, o (Active, other)
A, o means the sellers have accepted an offer with a contingency that could be anything other than Inspection or Statutory Rescission. For example, if it's a vacant lot and buyers want to get building plans approved by the city before committing, they would submit their offer contingent on the city approval.
P (Pending)
The sellers have accepted an offer and are set to close. This usually means the inspection period has passed and all other contingencies (except Financing) have been lifted.
T (TNAS)
This stands for Temporarily Not Available for Showing. It typically means the listing is active but sellers wish to make the property unavailable for private showings, for whatever reason. Maybe they have company staying with them or are making repairs or remodeling. It might also mean they've accepted an offer and are getting a buyer's inspection. In this case, agents are required to add an “i” after the TNAS signaling the inspection contingency.
If you are curious about a home with this status, ask your agent to contact the listing agent directly to get more information. Keep in mind sites like Zillow currently do not display property with TNAS status. These homes are only visible in the MLS database, accessible to subscribing real estate agents.
Coming Soon
The Northstar MLS recently added a “Coming Soon” status for new listings. During this period at least one photo must be displayed, and homes cannot be shown (a hefty fine for agents who do.) Properties can remain in this status for up to 21 days after which they will automatically become “Active” and available for showings, as permitted by the sellers. The Active date should be visible next to the status bar.
This list represents terminology from one of Minnesota's regional MLSs (Multiple Listing Services). Other MLS databases across the state and country may have similar terms with slight variations.
Heidi Swanson is a Realtor® based in St. Paul, Minnesota. She writes a blog to share information on a variety of real estate related topics including buying and selling, market conditions, homeownership trends and more. Reach her at heidi@lyndenrealty.com or 651-503-1540.