Tip of the Week – Reserved Status

Posted on October 29, 2012 by admin_ecar

Here’s an old joke for your beautiful autumn morning. The man asks his new bride what dish she makes best. Her answer? Reservations! Ba-dum-bum. Joking aside, we need to talk about the reserve status in the MLS.

The definition of the reserve status, according the ECAR MLS rules – Appendix A, under Listing Status, is as follows. The status used when a buyer has reserved the right to purchase property to be built, but where the property has not yet reached the stage of development where the buyer and seller have signed a Contract for Sale and Purchase or similar agreement (“hard contract”).

This status option was very popular a few years ago when developments, usually condos, were being started, and developers were “pre-selling” the units. Construction had not even started on the project, but the units were being reserved for purchase. At some point, these listings should have been updated to a different status.

Right now there are approximately 65 listings in the Reserve status. Many of them have been in that status for quite some time. The reason for this may be when this status was added to the MLS, there was no requirements for additional information to be added. No projected close date, no reservation date, nothing. So the listings have sat there, in this “hold” status indefinitely.

Some of these may be legitimate comparables, but the closing information is not there. Others may have been relisted under a different number to represent the sale. But for right now, we have some listings in the system that are in listing limbo.

Check your inventory to see if any of them are yours.

If you have any questions, please call us at 850-244-2411, or email susan@ecaor.com

Susan Beck, MLS Director
Emerald Coast Association of REALTORS
Fort Walton Beach, FL