"Pending" is a label the real estate industry uses to signify that a home sale is nearly complete.
If a home sale is listed as pending, the homeowner has accepted a purchase offer from a prospective buyer. "Pending" means both parties have seen and signed the purchase contract and agreed to its terms. At this stage, a homeowner can — and sometimes will — entertain offers from other buyers, but both parties are under a legal contract to make the sale final.
When pending status is achieved, the buyer and seller enter the transaction's escrow phase. Homes are typically listed as pending for 30 to 60 days, according to the National Association of Realtors, but the timeline to get to closing is different for every property. Finishing the appraisal, home inspection and mortgage underwriting; getting final approval of the home loan; repairing damage; and other steps will truly determine how long it takes to exit pending status.
Pending status is different from "contingent" status, which essentially is a promise between the buyer and seller that the sale will go through as long as the parties meet the agreed upon conditions, such as a home inspection, the seller securing suitable housing, the buyer finding financing, the title clears, and more.
Several issues could imperil a pending sale
To be sure, pending status doesn't guarantee a home will be sold. Seven percent of all home sale contracts were terminated in the last three months, up slightly from 6% one month ago and up from 4% one year ago, according to the NAR's April confidence survey.
A pending sale can fall through for several reasons, including, but not limited to, issues with the title and home inspection.
"The two biggest trigger items are the inspection and appraisal," Scott Garnett, an agent with Samson Properties in Richmond, Virginia, said. "Occasionally, there are issues with financing or the buyer backs out.”
Problems arise when there is a big gap between the agreed-upon sale price and appraised value, leaving the buyer, seller, or both to come up with more money to complete the deal.
Homeowners sometimes pursue a short sale to avoid foreclosure. That's when the owner tries to sell the property for less than the amount owed on the mortgage. The mortgage company has final say on who can purchase the home, and a pending offer could fall through if the company does not approve the buyer.
A pending sale could also fall through if the homeowner has a lien on the property's title or if the buyer's mortgage company decides not to finance the sale.