Buyers, are you using Zillow to search for a home? Please be aware that you are not getting an accurate representation of available properties due to a technical difference between how statuses are coded in the Multiple Listing Service and how statuses are coded in Zillow.
ARMLS uses the status “Active” to represent homes that are available for sale. ARMLS requires that once a home has an accepted offer, the status of the listing must be changed to either “Pending” or “UCB”.
“Pending” represents homes that have a contract on them and are no longer available – they are in escrow.
“UCB” stands for Under Contract, Accepting Back-Up Offers. This status is supposed to be used for properties that have a contingent offer on them, and where the seller would like to continue marketing and showing their home in an effort to obtain a back-up offer.
Unfortunately, the UCB status is not being used the way it was intended. Most of the properties that have this status are not allowing further showings and the sellers aren’t actually interested in accurately marketing for back-up offers.
Most agents, when working with buyers, completely disregard UCB listings for this reason.
In contrast, Zillow doesn’t differentiate between “Active” and “UCB” statuses – it lumps them all together as available properties. Therefore, buyers are spending countless hours pouring over listings that are not actually available.
We know this first hand – we get inquiries on UCB properties all the time, from buyers who are searching for homes on Zillow. Just the other day, a client emailed me a list of 20 homes they wanted to see. Only 3 were actually available. The rest were under contract and some were sold (but that’s a topic for another article.)
Mike Orr of the Cromford Report suggests that many homeowners and Realtors may be using the UCB status just so that the listing continues to be listed for sale on Zillow. He says that it’s gone so far that instead of the UCB status being defined as “under contract accepting backups”, the status should now be defined as “pending, but I like my listing marketed on Zillow”.
The bottom line is that you should work with a Realtor to get accurate information on the listings that are available in your target area. Otherwise, you may be wasting your time by studying homes that are already sold.
If you are looking for DC Ranch homes for sale, get in touch with the Matheson Team, your DC Ranch real estate experts by filling out the contact form below. We can provide you with accurate, up-to-date information on homes available that meet your criteria.
Don Matheson
Realtor | Founder
The Matheson Team – RE/MAX Fine Properties
21000 N. Pima Rd., #100, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
480-360-0281
don@scottsdalerealestate.com
