TNAS Over the Holidays: How Prevalent?

No Showings = 0% Chance of Selling

Home Sellers who don't want to accommodate showings over the holidays -- or any other time that's inconvenient -- can elect to switch their home's status to "TNAS," or "Temporarily Not Available for Showing."

While the "For Sale" sign in front will typically stay put, the home no longer shows "Active" on MLS, effectively putting the kibosh on showing requests.

So, how many formerly active homes are "on ice" over the holidays?

At least in MLS area #300, near the City Lakes, fewer than you might imagine.

Specifically, out of 144 single family homes currently on the market, only 11 -- less than 8% -- were TNAS.

You'd certainly guess that none of the latter were vacant.

"TNAS" or "PNAS?"

Is Six Months "Temporary"?

I tripped across this Minnetonka home in the course of doing a CMA ("Comparative Market Analysis") for an upcoming listing.

Originally listed on June 28 last Summer, it was switched to "TNAS" ("Temporarily Not Available for Showing") five days later -- and has remained there ever since.

Maybe that should now be "Permanently Not Available for Showing."

What appears to be going on (or not) is that the Seller is an owner-agent, and is relying on the For Sale sign -- on busy Hopkins Crossroad -- to generate drive-by interest (there's no indication on the sign that the home is "temporarily" not available for showing).

While that limits the home's marketing exposure, it also reduces the odds that the owner-agent will have to share any sales commission with a Buyer's agent.

How "Temporary" is Temporary?

Of course, that's not how TNAS is supposed to be used.

Rather, that status is intended for short-term situations like a home repair; family illness, hosting guests, or some other occasion that interferes with showings; or even a Buyer's inspection.

However, the reality is that if no one complains about a listed home being TNAS indefinitely, there's no reportable offense.

Between the lines, you'd infer that there hasn't been a ton of interest in this home.

In fact, the literature box in front is empty, and the current asking price (per a neighbor) apparently is $199,900, not the $225,000 listed on MLS.

P.S.: The most obscure MLS status? That would be "COMP."

Commonly thought to be a truncated "Comparable," it actually stands for "Came on Market Pending."

That can happen when a deal is done privately, but one of the parties is a Realtor, and wants marketing credit on MLS (as does their broker).

Attentive (and Not So Attentive) Agents

Overeager Seller? No, Overeager Realtor

At one extreme, there are Realtors who don't return your phone calls even when you're trying to find out how to submit an offer your client has written on one of their listings.

That's actually happened to me -- twice -- in the last year.

Surprise, surprise . . . . both were foreclosures.

At the other extreme is what happened this weekend.

Out of six townhomes I set up for showings, agents on two of them sent me "pre-showing" emails extolling the townhome's (many) virtues, encouraging me to "have a good showing," etc.

I certainly appreciate the attentiveness.

However . . . . a) it comes across as overeagerness, at least to me; and b) it's premature, given that my client hasn't even been through yet.

Usually, major things like total square feet, floor plan, condition, and location speak for themselves -- and trump details like whether or not the living room furniture is included.

When it's not "Overselling"

Are there exceptions to getting in front of the Buyer's agent ahead of the showing?

I can think of three.

One. Letting the showing agent know that a price reduction is imminent.

Two. Informing the showing agent that there's intense interest from other Buyers (and time really is of the essence).

Three. The property has a number of features and amenities that might otherwise be overlooked.

That can easily be the case with an upper bracket home that trips, say, more than 5,000 square feet.

A fourth situation involves letting the agent know about a temporary problem. For example, the basement got water from the storm the night before and is being dried out, a stained carpet is being replaced, etc.

Those kinds of situations are always judgment calls, but in my opinion are probably better addressed by temporarily taking the home off the market. In fact, MLS has a status, "TNAS," or Temporarily not Available for Showing," specifically designed for those situations.

P.S.: also in the "overeager" category would be the cell phone call for feedback . . . while I'm still doing the showing!