Calgary Real Estate and Conditionally Sold Properties

For years CREB (The Calgary Real Estate Board for those of you who do not know) have been marking sales as "Pending" or "Conditionally Sold" when an offer was accepted. The practice has been to mark the listing as pending in the system and not continuing with marketing the property  to potential buyers.

Just this past December CREB decided that they would now provide sellers with a choice when they are in a conditionally sold status with a willing buyer. ( almost all listings are conditionally sold before they become firm to allow buyers to satisfy a home inspection or financing condition. )

Like any change there is a time frame if adjustment and with changes brings comments about whether it is positive or not. It is my opinion that there are pros and cons to this new ruling and I see them as follows:

Sellers Pros One of the most positive outcomes from this rule is that sellers can continue to market their property even while a conditional offer is accepted. They may even be successful in obtaining a backup offer which can help solidify the fact that the house will soon go into firm status with one buyer or the other.

If sellers prefer to take a break from marketing and showings during their conditional status, it is now their choice one way or the other.

Sellers Cons One of the positive aspects of a pending sale that falls through is that when marked in the system from pending to active status again, it may create excitement to potential buyers as they are happy to see it return to the market when it prospects back out to potential buyers.

Buyers Cons In some instances buyers may be interested in a home only to find out that another buyer has a conditional sale on the home of their dreams. This can be avoided though by using an experienced real estate agent that keeps up with current real estate practices. This only solidifies the need to acquire the services of the best agent you can find to act on your behalf to ensure you only view properties that do not have conditional offers on them.

There will be some pressure on buyers to proceed with removal of conditions if there is other interest. This could be negative as if there are issues with home inspections interest from other potential buyers may make the seller unwilling to remedy the current offer.