The Times They Are a Changin'

Some important changes were announced by the NWMLS (Northwest Multiple Listing Service) regarding the way the public can view property listings on the web starting this month. The term Active STI (Subject to Inspection) will no longer be used. It will become Pending Inspection, and two new statuses will be created, Pending Feasibility and Pending BU Requested.

Pending Inspection will be used when the property has a signed Purchase and Sale Agreement and has an inspection scheduled. Pending Feasibility will be used for listings where a purchase and sale agreement is signed pending a feasibility study. Pending BU Requested will be used when the seller would like to receive back up offers.

So this means that homes with pending offers that previously remained visible on listing sites with the status of “Subject to Inspection” will now be taken completely off the market and all listing sites, and will not be visible to the public. If the deal falls through, they will then go back on the market.

Another important change is the inclusion of CDOM (cumulative days on the market) that will be available for display on all listing sites. Previously, if a listing was taken off the market and re-listed, the “days on market” number shared by the NWMLS with public listing sites was reset to zero, while the internal NWMLS database maintained a private CDOM that indicated the true total time a home had sat on the market. Additionally, the price history for listings will also be available, so you will be able to check the original list price and any price reductions that may have occurred on a property.

All in all, the access to this new information will greatly benefit the public and allow them to better educate themselves on the market and their real estate decisions.