Hello Ladybug and thanks for your email.

As the others have already noted, unless the seller's have requested otherwise, a home may continue to be shown even after a contract has made for its sale. In Northern California, we have different levels "pending" sales notes that can be placed on the home's MLS listing--PR, PN and PS. Depending on which form of "pending" is attached to the home sale, we (as Realtors) know we can still show a home or can no longer show the home (because contingencies have been removed) or can show the home for a while as there is an impediment that may be blocking consumation.

One of the reasons that many sellers continue to show homes is because so often a buyer cannot or will not complete the sales transaction. In some cases, the failure is due to an appraisal problem, or funding or investigations. In other situations, the buyer gets "cold feet", so it can be good to continue to market the home until all parties have removed contingencies and are closer to the end of the transaction.

What we have seen in the past, especially here in Santa Clara, are some agents who have short sale listings where the seller has executed a sales contract, but the listing is still seen on the MLS as "active" or available to buyers when, in fact, there is someone in the way. Because this is both confusing and frustrating to buyers, I saw a notice today on our MLS listing service reminding all agents that they MUST set the home to "pending" when the seller has executed a sales contract even if all parties are still waiting for bank approval. As more and more MLS services require agents to show a "pending" or "under contract" status for short sales and REOs that have agreements but are waiting for approvals from lenders, it should help the average consumer better utilize his/her time in their home search by seeing if a property is truly available or sold, pending approvals.

Good luck and happy house hunting!!

Sincerely,
Grace Morioka, SRES, e-Pro
Area Pro Realty

Ladybug319,

Without additional information, it would be difficult to give you an accurate answer. Based soley on the information provided, if the property is considered CCS (or similar) which in my MLS stands for under contract continue to show then the home is considered actively for sale and agents can show it to buyers.

If you have concerns, I suggest talking this over with your agent.

Yes, a listing agent can continue to show a home that is under contract in order to best protect their client, the seller. The reason they do this is in case the current contract falls apart, as it often does due to inspections, financing, etc. It doesn't mean that the seller can or will kick the current buyer out of the contract, it just gives them a backup plan.

Jen Bowman, Broker Associate
Success Realty
404-456-5024

The short answer - absolutely yes. The listing agent represents the seller and the terms of how the home is to be shown are contained in the listing contract between them. It can be frutrating for a buyer and a buyer's agent if the home is shown and it ends up being a waste of time as another offer is in place. Sellers often want the home shown even so in case the first offer falls apart. Your buyer representative can best advise you how to proceed - should you bother to see the home, should you make an offer to be in place as a back up, etc.
Good luck!
Tamara Smith
Associate Broker
Coldwell Banker Schweitzer
Tamara@RealtorTamara.com

Keep in mind legal and ethical are two very different, though related beast. There's no law that stops an agent from showing a house that is under contract. There are instances were it may be in the interest of the Sellers (who the agent represents) to keep showing the property--the caveat being the buyers should be told there's an accepted offer on the property.