Why Would a House Be Taken Off the Market?

In most cases, a house is listed on the market, reaches the pending stage when the seller accepts a buyer’s offer, and is sold at closing. However, there may be instances when available homes are removed from the market before anyone makes an offer on them. 

Removing a house from the market can be confusing for buyers and raise questions about the property. However, there could be dozens of reasons why a listing is taken down. Some of these reasons are strategic on the part of the home seller, while others are circumstantial. 

Find the answers you need to and learn how to research off-market properties. Use this guide to learn more about the actions of homeowners as they try to sell their homes.

1. Seller’s Change of Heart or Remorse

It’s entirely possible that an off-market property was pulled because the seller no longer wanted to move or couldn’t because of family disagreements. Selling a house isn’t just a significant financial choice, it’s an emotional one.

Sellers need to be ready to part with the memories made in the house and take on the stress and hard work that comes with moving. Here are a few emotional reasons for an off-market listing. 

• The sellers are too emotionally attached. They may regret parting with a home filled with memories, especially if they lived there for several years. Sometimes it takes listing the home to make people realize they will be leaving it. 
• There are family dynamics and disagreements. If the house was inherited, there may be disagreements amongst the heirs about whether or not to sell the property.  
• The stress of moving could be too high. Packing every item and transporting it to another home is stressful. The sellers could be emotionally overwhelmed. 
• Life changes prevent moving. The seller could have improvements or problems with their finances that change their moving goals. Other life changes, like job promotions or pregnancies, can also cause sellers to take a listing off-market. 

Some of these reasons may result in the property leaving the market permanently, while other reasons only cause a slight delay. For example, a growing family might not want to move immediately after a baby arrives, but a house listed by heirs might go back on the market quickly if all the siblings agree to sell.

2. Strategic Repositioning by Sellers

There are also strategic reasons why a listing would be taken off-market. Here are a few examples of sellers removing homes from the market. 

• There was inadequate interest or low offers. The sellers might be disappointed by the lack of potential buyers and would prefer to remove the house. Delisting can reset the “days on market” clock that might stigmatize a property. The longer a property sits on the market, the more buyers think there is something wrong with it. 
• The local housing market may be entering the slow season. The seller may plan to relist when the market improves. They also might remove their property during the holiday seasons, so they aren’t moving over Thanksgiving and Christmas. 
• They need to make improvements or renovations. The sellers may temporarily remove a property to make repairs or upgrades. They may be responding to issues from buyer feedback, or natural events could have caused emergency repairs. The goal is to relist the off-market property as soon as these changes are made. 
• The sellers are switching real estate representation. The reason for going off-market could be as simple as the sellers changing agents or brokerages. The house will be relisted under the new agent’s name. Not every agent is a good fit for every seller.
• The sellers are testing the market without serious intent. They may try to list the property at a high price to test the hot market without a real desire to sell. They want to evaluate buyer interest in the home’s current state. 

These reasons depend on the motivation of sellers. Some sellers are eager to move and just need to make repairs or hire a new Realtor. Others are fine waiting to move until the market is ideal. 

3. Home Inspection and Structural Issues

It’s also possible that a home would go off-market because the sellers discovered problems that would make the property difficult to sell. It may have had offers before (if you see that it was pending in the multiple listing service), but the deals never went through. Here are a few examples.

•  Major problems were discovered during inspections. The homeowner might not have been aware of the issues until the inspection. They could pull the property off-market to make repairs before relisting. Common inspection issues can include roof damage, plumbing or electrical problems, and the presence of termites. 
• Foundation and structural concerns. Foundation repairs can be difficult and expensive. Sellers might prefer to take the house off the market and make these repairs while they live there instead of trying to negotiate pricing. This can also make selling easier because buyers won’t have to convince lenders to approve mortgage loans for properties with foundation concerns. 
• Environmental hazards. The inspection may highlight the presence of mold, asbestos, or other toxic substances. The seller will need to remediate the issue before relisting. 

It’s possible there were unreasonable repair requests from the buyers. The property could be pulled from the market while the sellers prepare to relist. The sellers will decide what repairs are necessary to successfully close the deal. 

Reasonable repair requests relate to the basic operations of the house. These can range from repairing roof damage to fixing a broken HVAC system or water heater. However, unnecessary repairs are often considered upgrades or improvements to the home.

If the HVAC system works but is old, it’s considered unreasonable for the buyer to ask the seller to put in a new one. A seller can walk away from a deal if the buyer is seen as unreasonable. 

4. Title and Legal Issues

Another reason for an unexpected off-market listing is the sellers taking steps to clear any title or legal issues that could prevent them from selling. The phrase “clouds on the title” refers to potential problems related to the title that keep it from being transferred from the seller to the buyer. These problems could range from liens on the property to false claims of ownership from scammers. 

A few types of liens that can block a home sale include mortgage, tax, judgment, or labor liens from contractors who were not paid. The sellers will either need to pay their debts or settle their disputes before they can ask their real estate agent to list the property again.

The seller could also be in a boundary dispute with a neighbor or the local municipality to determine where their property lines begin and end. Unclear boundary lines can confuse buyers and deter them from moving forward because of future disputes. Clearing up this confusion could take a few weeks or several months. 

Finally, legal issues like probate and inheritance complications could create an off-market listing. Heirs may have come forward claiming rights to a property, or there could be internal disagreements amongst family members about what to do with the house. This could keep a house off the market for years.

5. Financial and Mortgage Issues

Both small and large financial changes can affect whether sellers hire a real estate agent or take their home off-market. Many sellers want to move but are unable to because of outside monetary factors. 

For example, the house may have been under contract, but the deal fell through because the buyers couldn’t get financing. The sellers may need a break before relisting. However, if the financing fell through because the appraisal came in much lower than the listing price, the sellers may need to decide whether they should relist at a lower price or try to improve the house so it gets a higher appraisal. 

There could also be changes in the seller’s mortgage situation. If a seller loses their job, they might take their house off-market because they are unsure about moving and buying another house during uncertain times. 

Even if a seller still has their job, the greater housing market could affect their desire to sell. If a homeowner feels like the real estate industry isn’t favorable to sellers or if they worry about buying in the current market, they might decide to stay where they are. If a homeowner is worried about their future job stability, they might think maintaining a stable mortgage is a better bet. 

As a buyer, you can talk to local real estate agents to discuss potential trends in home sales. They can tell you if the number of available listings is changing and the potential causes of these trends.

6. Personal and Logistical Circumstances for Off-Market Homes

A house can go off-market for reasons that are completely out of control of sellers. They might be eager to move and ready to sell, but life events keep them in place. Here are a few additional reasons for a sudden off-market listing. 

• The seller’s housing plans fall through. The seller may not have a place to move to next because their own deal fell through. This could cause them to unlist the property until they have a new home.  
• There are health or family emergencies. An unexpected diagnosis for someone in the family or an unplanned death can put plans to move on pause. The house will stay off-market until the family recovers. 
• Job relocation plans change or fall through. It’s not uncommon for Realtors to market properties when a homeowner gets a new job and needs to move for work. If a job offer is rescinded or a deal falls through, the seller might not need to move.  
• There are temporary life transitions that a home sale would disrupt. If a home does not sell before a major vacation, planned surgery, or life event like a wedding, the seller might decide to take the property off-market so they can focus on these other life events instead of moving. The owner might relist the property once the life event has passed. 

A home sale can completely disrupt your life, and some people don’t want to move while handling other life challenges. They will take their house off the market and consider moving in the future under different circumstances.

7. Administrative and Technical Reasons for an Off-Market House

It’s also possible that the off-market property will return to the MLS within a few days or hours. It could have been removed because of technical errors or unexpected issues between the seller and the real estate agent. 

For example, the listing agreement could expire if the house doesn’t have any potential buyers by the time the contract ends between the owner and the listing agent. If the contract isn’t renewed or the seller decides to hire another Realtor, the listing will fall off the market. Once the seller has a new agent, the listing will reappear. 

There also could have been errors in the listing details or the pricing that caused the home to be pulled. In this case, the off-market property might be available again in a few hours once everything is corrected. 

If you are looking for off-market sales, check to see if a listing is temporarily off-market versus completely delisted. A homeowner who has temporarily removed a listing might be eager to sell the property with the right real estate agent and at the right price.

You may be able to work with pocket listing services that highlight temporarily off-market properties that you can make offers to. This could be an effective strategy to find homes in a competitive market.

Impact on Property Value and Future Sales

Delisting a property can have positive and negative effects on the reputation of a home. In some cases, removing a house from the local MLS can be a good thing. If the home isn’t selling, the relisting resets the number of days it was on the market. However, if a house is frequently pulled from the market and then relisted, both buyers and real estate investors will be wary. They might worry about the state of the home or believe the sellers could be difficult to work with. 

Look for sellers who are transparent about why a house was delisted. They might discuss a divorce or financial hardship event that prevented them from moving or highlight how they wanted to make improvements that would generate buyer interest. Some active MLS listings will explain exactly why a house was delisted to avoid any ambiguity or concerns with buyers. 

In some cases, the sellers might be required to discuss any reasons for delisting. If they discovered problems during the inspection, they are required to disclose known problems. The seller might showcase any investments they made to address the issues so buyers don’t have to worry about them.

What Buyers Should Know About Off-Market Listings

Taking a home off-market isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The owner may need to make home improvements or switch real estate agents so they have a better home sale experience. However, buyers need to do their research to better understand why a house is delisted and look for potential red flags. 

First, ask your Realtor to research an off-market house to learn why the listing was removed. The current listing agent or brokerage might be transparent about the change, especially if the seller is making improvements so the home is more desirable. This research can also help your agent know if there is a chance the off-market house will be relisted. If there is a death in the family or a job offer didn’t go through, the owners might stay in the property for years. 

This research can help you decide whether the owner might be interested in off-market sales and deals. Off-market sales are often less stressful for homeowners because they don’t need to schedule showings and open houses. Real estate investors often make off-market deals because they know that not every owner wants to go through the traditional home-sale process. 

If this is a strategy that interests you, talk to your Realtor about how to find off-market properties. They may be able to recommend pocket listing services or real estate auction websites where you can place bids. Off-market sales could help you make competitive offers if you aren’t having luck placing traditional bids.

Explore Off-Market Properties to Understand Their Potential

While a delisting may raise questions about a property, it often represents a normal part of the real estate process. You don’t have to assume that an off-market property is a red flag that potentially has serious issues or difficult sellers. The reason for the off-market flag could be related to personal life events or home improvements the seller wanted to make.

Work with local real estate agents who can help you find off-market properties and learn why the status of specific homes has changed. A trusted agent can conduct research and provide any information they find to help with your home search. Whether you are looking for your dream home or a rental property, your Realtor can help you bid on houses and townhomes that are a good fit. 

Turn to FastExpert to find trusted real estate professionals. You can read profiles, learn about agents, and contact the best ones to interview. Try FastExpert today and discover leading Realtors in your area. The right agent can help you find off-market listings and make the home-buying process easier and less stressful.