The Northwest Multiple Listing Service recently changed the way that sales are reported to agents and to the public, making it clearer to buyers whether the property is actually available for sale. Sales that used to be called "Active-Subject to Inspection" are now called "Pending Inspection."
Here is the way it used to be:
Listings stayed in the Northwest Multiple Listing Service in several categories, including "Active", "Active-Subjection to Inspection", "Contingent" and "Pending". Agents could see homes in the MLS in all of these categories. "Active-Subject to Inspection" meant an offer had been mutually accepted, conditional on a satisfactory inspection. "Contingent" means an offer has been mutually accepted, conditional on the buyer selling their other house. MLS4owners.com also advertises homes that are "subject to inspection" and "contingent", as do most real estate websites. "Pending" means an offer has been mutually accepted and does not fit into one of the two categories above, and by MLS rules a property with a pending sale is not considered available for sale.
This system worked well, though it was confusing why a house subject to an inspection would be considered "Active", while a sale subject to financing, title review or other administrative hurdles was considered "Pending". After all, what a buyer really wants to know is, "Is this property available for sale, or is it not?" If the listing is under contract and the buyer cannot be bumped out of the way by a new offer, it is not available. The NWMLS apparently wanted to improve the reporting of availability, and has replaced "Active-Subject to Inspection" with "Pending Inspection".
How does this affect sellers? It means that all accepted offers will go into a "Pending" status and will not show as being available for sale, unless the sale is contingent on the buyer accepting an offer on their other house.
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