In real estate, a “hold” status means a listing has been temporarily taken off the market: showings and active marketing are paused, but the listing agreement between the seller and the broker remains in force.1RESO – Real Estate Standards Organization. Real Estate Listing Statuses, Virtual Tours and Days on Market During a Crisis The property stays in the MLS database rather than being removed, the days-on-market count freezes, and the listing can return to active status later without looking stale.
Hold is a pause, not a cancellation. The seller still has an agent, the property is still under contract to be marketed, and the home is expected back on the market once whatever caused the pause is resolved.
Why a Listing Goes on Hold
Sellers move a listing to hold when the property temporarily cannot or should not be shown. A few situations come up most often:
- Sudden repair needs: a burst pipe, failed HVAC, or similar problem that makes the home unsuitable for viewing until the work is finished.
- Personal circumstances: illness, a family emergency, or any situation where the seller needs privacy in the home for a stretch of time.
- Preparation work: the agent pauses the listing while staging, professional photography, or last-minute renovations wrap up, so the property relaunches in its best condition.
- Timing: a listing that went live during a slow stretch, or hit a shift in market conditions, may get pulled back and reintroduced when buyer activity picks up.
In each of these cases, the hold tells other agents and buyers that the pause is deliberate and temporary.
How Hold Compares to Other MLS Statuses
The MLS uses a standardized set of statuses defined by the Real Estate Standards Organization. Hold sits between a listing being fully on the market and being gone from it:
- Active: on the market, open to showings and offers.
- Coming Soon: entered in the MLS but not yet available for showings or open houses, with a short time limit before it must move to another status.2CRMLS Knowledgebase. Coming Soon FAQs
- Hold: the agreement remains in force, but the property is temporarily unavailable for showings and days on market pause.1RESO – Real Estate Standards Organization. Real Estate Listing Statuses, Virtual Tours and Days on Market During a Crisis
- Withdrawn: pulled from the MLS, but the seller-broker contract is still active, so the seller cannot list elsewhere without first resolving that agreement.
- Canceled: the seller-brokerage contract has been terminated and the seller is free to relist with another broker.
- Expired: the listing agreement reached its end date without a sale and the property left the MLS automatically.
For a buyer, the practical distinction is that hold and withdrawn both mean the seller is still under contract with the listing brokerage. Canceled and expired mean they aren’t.
What Happens to Days on Market and the Listing Contract
When a listing goes on hold, the days-on-market clock stops. It picks back up only when the listing returns to active. If the property never reactivates and the agreement simply expires, the final count runs from the original list date to the expiration date, with the hold period subtracted.1RESO – Real Estate Standards Organization. Real Estate Listing Statuses, Virtual Tours and Days on Market During a Crisis That freeze is one of the main reasons sellers use hold rather than leaving a listing active while quietly turning down showings; a long day count can lead buyers to assume something is wrong with the property.
The listing agreement itself keeps running. Hold does not pause or extend the contract’s expiration date. If the agreement was set to end on a specific date, that date doesn’t move, no matter how long the property sits on hold. If no status change happens before then, the listing expires on schedule.3mymetrotex.com. MLS Status Definition and Purge Rules Sellers expecting a long pause should talk to their broker about adjusting the end date before it arrives.
Showings and Marketing While a Listing Is on Hold
The clearest effect of hold is that the property is not available for tours. No buyer’s agent should be scheduling showings, and that restriction applies to the listing brokerage’s own agents too.
Marketing rules vary by local MLS. Some boards stop syndication to third-party sites like Zillow and Realtor.com during a hold, so the listing may disappear from public search portals. Others allow email marketing or virtual tours to continue. Yard sign policies also differ. Because the rules are set locally, your agent is the best source for what applies in your market.
If you’re watching a property that just went on hold, ask your agent to set up an automated alert for the moment it returns to active. Your agent can also call the listing office for a rough timeline on when showings will reopen.
Can You Make an Offer on a Property That’s on Hold?
Yes. You can submit a written offer on a held property even though you cannot tour it in person. Under the NAR Code of Ethics, listing agents are required to present all offers and counter-offers to the seller promptly and objectively, and they cannot refuse to pass along your offer just because the property is on hold.4National Association of REALTORS. Part 4, Appendix IX – Presenting and Negotiating Multiple Offers
Your agent prepares a standard purchase agreement and submits it to the listing broker. The seller then decides whether to review, accept, reject, or counter. If the home is on hold for repairs, the terms often adjust to match the work schedule, for example by pushing the inspection period until after repairs are complete.
Protecting Yourself When You Haven’t Seen the Home
Offering on a property you haven’t walked through carries real risk. Contingencies are the main protection: contract clauses that let you back out or renegotiate without losing your earnest money if specific conditions are not met.
- Inspection contingency: lets you hire an inspector after the hold is lifted and cancel or renegotiate if significant problems turn up. This is the single most important protection on a sight-unseen offer.
- Appraisal contingency: lets you walk away or renegotiate if the property appraises below the agreed price.
- Financing contingency: protects you if your mortgage falls through.
Some buyers add a “sight unseen” addendum that states the offer was made without a physical tour and preserves the right to a walkthrough once the home is accessible. In most states, the purchase contract also includes a due diligence period for inspections, loan approval, and cancellation if serious concerns surface. Sellers sometimes try to narrow the inspection contingency, for instance by allowing cancellation only for major structural problems or repairs above a set dollar amount, so read the terms before signing.
Earnest money, typically 1 to 3 percent of the purchase price depending on local custom, is still expected with an offer on a held property. It sits in escrow and comes back to you if you cancel within your contingencies. Waiving contingencies to look more competitive is especially risky when you have not seen the home; a solid inspection contingency is worth more than a slightly higher offer price.