Buying or selling a home often comes with moments that feel contradictory. You’re told one thing, then you see another.
This series looks at those moments and explains what’s happening behind the scenes, so even when the process still feels odd, you at least know why.
Why is this house still for sale if it already sold?
If you’ve ever been told a house was conditionally sold, or worse, lost out to a competing offer, you might recognize what happens next.
You open Realtor.ca.
There it is.
Big letters.
FOR SALE.
At that point, it’s only natural to think: If it’s for sale, I want to buy it.
Honestly, people who work in real estate sometimes forget how strange this looks from the outside. The language we use makes sense to us. To everyone else, it feels illogical and super annoying.
In the interest of trying to make it make sense, here’s what’s going on.
What “conditionally sold” actually means
In Ontario, most accepted offers come with conditions. The most common are a home inspection and financing.
When a seller accepts an offer with those conditions, the home is considered conditionally sold. The seller has agreed to sell the property and has agreed to give the buyer time to do their due diligence. That usually means:
- Completing a home inspection
- Allowing the property to be reviewed and approved by the buyer’s mortgage lender
During this period (usually about a week), the seller typically cannot accept another offer. They’ve already committed to the first buyer and agreed to give them that time to confirm everything checks out.
Why showings often continue anyway
Even though the seller can’t accept another offer during a standard conditional period, they’re usually allowed to continue showings.
That’s a backup plan, though, not a loophole so they can keep trying to get a better deal.
If the buyer fails to satisfy their conditions and the deal falls apart, the seller doesn’t want to start from scratch. Keeping the home visible and accessible helps avoid losing momentum.
The one situation where another offer can come into play
There is one common exception, and this is where things get more complicated.
If the accepted offer includes a condition on the sale of the buyer’s own property, the seller may include what’s called an escape clause.
In that situation:
- The seller can continue to show the home
- Another buyer is allowed to submit an offer
- The first buyer is given first right of refusal
If that happens, the first buyer is given a set amount of time, usually between 24 and 72 hours, to either remove all of their conditions and firm up the deal, or walk away and allow the seller to accept the new offer.
This is often referred to as being “bumped.” It’s not rare, per se, but it’s very specific, and it only applies when that sale-of-property condition exists.
Why Realtor.ca still shows the home as “for sale”
Here’s the key piece that causes most of the confusion.
Realtor.ca does not show conditional sales. A listing only changes status once a deal becomes firm.
So even when:
- An offer has been accepted
- The seller is no longer free to accept new offers
- Everyone involved knows a deal is in progress
The listing still appears as active to the public until conditions are removed.
That’s why you keep seeing it.
Why the sign stays up
Same reason.
Until the deal is firm, the home is technically still on the market. Taking the sign down early would actually create confusion if the deal didn’t close and the property needed to continue being shown.
What this all adds up to
From the consumer’s point of view, it feels like two realities are happening at once. You’re being told the house is spoken for, but the public systems still say it’s available.
That disconnect is what creates the frustration.
These are the reasons a property continues to show up online after an offer is accepted. And yes, we do wish the consumer-facing websites did a better job of clearly indicating when a home is conditionally sold. It would save a lot of confusion.
Until that changes, the best thing buyers can do is ask questions and get clarity on where a deal actually stands.
From time to time, the industry makes changes with the goal of improving the consumer’s experience. We hope that we, as professionals, can influence our decision-making bodies on this particular point of frustration soon to make things a little clearer! Until then, though, if you have questions about frustrations of your own, please let us know. If we can clear something up to make things a little less annoying, we’d be happy to do that.
