But There Are Sooo Many Signs Up!
Have you ever noticed that when you are in the market to buy something you begin to see it everywhere? For example, as soon as you begin car shopping and become interested in a specific car, it seems like everyone already has the one you like. The same is true for selling your home.
You would think that with all of the “For Sale” signs up around the area that there would be a lot of inventory available. Even when you search online… now seeing a home available doesn’t necessarily mean it is still around. Many agents simply keep a real estate sign up for advertising their name or company. I often have people contact with homes that interest them only to let them know it is already under contract.
Since short sales are contingent upon the bank accepting the offer, agents many times leave them active online when they are not really available for some one else to purchase (some would argue).
“At this moment, in the zip code of 20147 (Ashburn) there are 129 homes with Fee Simple ownership (not condos) available for sale. 31 of them are short sales. The others are either foreclosures, regular sales, or they are not disclosing their type of sale. Of the 31 homes listed as short sales over 9 of them already have contracts on them that the bank is looking at. However, the agents have left them ACTIVE. ”
Why do the agents leave them active?
1. If the seller has signed off on the contract and they are simply waiting for a bank response then the status should be changed- acording to MLS rules.
2. Agents who leave them active are most likely trying to get multiple offers or pick up new clients.
3. Many agents in this area have no ethics and will wait for a warning before making a change.
Why should you care?
1. Active listings that are not active harm your property value because they create a false sense of supply.
2. If you are buying, you may be wasting your time viewing homes that aren’t available.
This Aint Last Year’s Real Estate Market
Good points, thanks for sharing. It seems in every part of the country there are few real estate agents that follow/make their own set of rules. It can really be challenging, cause confusion and waste a lot of peoples time & energy. In Charleston SC we are taught that within 48 hours of having a “ratified agreement” the properties’ status should be changed in the MLS by the listing agent. It is also good to place an “under contract” rider on the yard sign – very few agents do this.