It only took a question from a reader to get me back to my computer. We've been showing hundreds of homes, writing dozens of offers, and literally pushing escrows through a system that's becoming bogged down as sales skyrocket here in Las Vegas (more on that later). As much as I enjoy sharing information and my thoughts, it gets tough to sit down and write sometimes. But I always have time for a reader's question, and this is one of those questions that I think other readers might share.

Jodie S asked what the entry "Exclusive Right" means in the Status field on the MLS. This is the most common status for a home that is currently for sale and available. This designation, which is an agreement between the seller and the listing broker, indicates that the listing office is entitled to a commission, regardless of who sells the home. To homebuyers, it merely indicates the home is available. (Well, it should mean that; in REO Land it does not always...more on that later, too!)

If the seller maintains the right to sell the home (a FSBO, or "for sale by owner") without paying the listing office a commission, this type of agency is "Exclusive Agency." This type of agreement is much less common; obviously, most listing brokerages want the right to earn a commission if they are marketing a seller's home.

Other common status designations are P (pending) and C (contingency). If an offer has been accepted and a sale is pending, one of these designations is used. Pending should indicate that there are no contingencies except for financing. Contingent should indicate that the sale is pending, but is contingent on something other than financing; e.g. bank approval of a short sale, sale of another home, or any of numerous contingencies that a seller has agreed to. Once the contingency has been satisfied, the status should be changed to Pending.

In REO Land, many listing agents are not updating the status in a timely manner when an offer has been accepted. This is a tremendous waste of time for both homebuyers and Realtors. This can be very frustrating for homebuyers who learn that the house they just fell in love with, which was listed in ER status, is actually in escrow, or that the bank is negotiating with another buyer and isn't looking at any more offers.

Listing agents often just don't get around to updating their listing in a timely manner. Many now blame it on the seller, saying that their asset manager won't let them update the listing until escrow closes. We at Top10RealEstateValues.com think that common courtesy dictates that these agents at least make mention in the "Agent-to-Agent" remarks that the bank has accepted an offer or is not looking at offers. So when I am crowned Queen, this will be the Rule of the Land.

Until then, my agents and I try to call in advance to find out whether there are offers on the home, and especially whether the bank has already extended a Counter Offer to another buyer. That gets a little tough to do when we are showing 10 or more homes in a day, but we especially try to do it on the homes that look great on paper.

A few more status indicators: T (Temporary) indicates that the home has been temporarily taken off the market. This is sometimes used lately when a home receives so many offers that it becomes difficult to respond to more. It's also used when an agent needs a little time to clear up some matter before putting it back on the market. W (Withdrawn) indicates that the home has been taken off the market, and the listing agent does not expect to list it again. S (Sold) indicates the home was sold recently; wheareas H (History) indicates it was sold more than 6 months ago.

And as I promised, more on sales skyrocketing. My blog is getting long, so I'll keep it short. Sales for March were further proof that sales are rising fast in this market. We are selling more homes now than we were at the peak of the market several years ago. March sales were nearly 3,000 homes, up by 30% in Februay. As my client said in the recent edition of Business Week, "Why wait for the bottom of the market when the deal is right?" (Yes, that's me in the April 13 Business Week photo with another client, who recently had an offer accepted. They just forgot to mention my name after having a camera crew follow us all day!)

With an increasing number of homebuyers competing for the attention of lenders already swamped with refi applications, it's taking 45-60 days to close an escrow lately. Every facet of the system seems to be bogged down, except the part where my agents and I show homes and write offers! Banks are taking longer to get fully-executed contracts back to us. Escrow officers are taking longer to close as sellers take longer to respond with their pieces of the puzzle. And lenders are swamped, resulting in turn times far longer than they were just 60 days ago. Even cash deals are taking 30-45 days; we can't close until the selling bank is ready.

It's still nearly impossible to predict when prices will begin to rise. Foreclosures are coming on the market at a faster pace than sales. As long as inventory rises faster than we can sell these homes, we aren't likely to see price stabilization. I believe the worst is behind us, and as my client told Business Week, the deals are right. He's buying a very clean 4-bdrm. home in a great community that will provide positive cashflow, and he's not waiting until prices start to rise to make a good investment.

More later on an interesting trend of lower-end homes coming on the market, and why that might be.

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