What Does “Active” Status Mean in Phoenix Real Estate Listings?
The Terrain: Phoenix Inventory by the Numbers
January 2026 ARMLS data: 24,358 Active listings (excluding UCB/CCBS) in the Phoenix metro, up 9.63% year over year and up 12.09% from December. Total under-contract inventory (Pending/UCB/CCBS): 7,478, up 36.76% from December. Average Days on Market: 94 days. Median Days on Market: 71 days. Median sales price: $444,740.
The under-contract jump of 36.76% from December to January is the market signaling that spring demand is accelerating. That also means a meaningful share of the listings a buyer sees labeled “Active” on a portal are not cleanly available — they carry an existing contract. Understanding the status system is the difference between pursuing a real opportunity and burning time on a property that is already essentially sold.
All Nine ARMLS Listing Statuses
| Status | What It Means | Can You Offer? | DOM Running? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coming Soon Pre-market | Listing is registered in ARMLS but not yet Active. No showings permitted under MLS rules. Used to generate pre-launch interest. | No (typically) | No |
| Active Available | No ratified contract. Fully available for showings and offers. The clean slate. | Yes — standard offer | Yes |
| UCB Under Contract | Accepted offer in place. Seller has requested in writing to continue marketing for backup offers. Contingencies may still be active. | Backup offers only | Yes |
| CCBS Under Contract | Accepted offer in place, contingent specifically on the buyer selling their own home. Seller is taking backup offers. | Backup offers only | Yes |
| Pending Off Market | Accepted offer. Seller has chosen NOT to continue marketing for backups. No showings. DOM counter stops. | No | No — stops here |
| Closed Sold | Transaction completed. Title has transferred. Not for sale. | No | No |
| Expired Off Market | Listing contract expired without a closed sale. Seller can relist with same or different agent. | No (direct seller contact possible) | No |
| Cancelled Off Market | Seller cancelled the listing contract before expiration. Property is not for sale. | No | No |
| Temp Off Market (TOM) Paused | Seller has paused marketing temporarily. Listing contract still active. Not showing. Can return to Active. | No (during TOM) | Varies |
Active: What It Actually Means in Practice
Per ARMLS’ own terminology: “Properties in Active status are available for sale and have no ratified contracts pending.” That is the definition. No contract. No accepted offer. The seller is open to all comers.
An Active listing in Phoenix in the current market means the buyer can schedule a showing through their agent, tour the property, and submit an offer that the seller will evaluate on its own merits — not as a backup to someone else’s deal. At 24,358 Active listings in January 2026, buyers in the West Valley have real selection. Buckeye, Surprise, Goodyear, and Peoria each carry meaningful inventory in the $450K–$650K range where supply is healthiest.
UCB: Under Contract–Backups
UCB is a sub-status of Active. The ARMLS definition: the seller has accepted an offer and, by written request to the listing agent, has chosen to continue marketing the property to attract backup offers. The listing stays visible in search results. Showings can continue. Backup offers can be submitted.
What this means practically: there is a buyer in position ahead of you. They have likely already deposited earnest money and may have completed their inspection period. If the existing transaction closes, the backup offer never activates. A backup offer only becomes the contract if the current deal falls through — the buyer cancels, fails to obtain financing, the appraisal comes in short and the parties cannot agree, or some other contingency is not resolved.
UCB was formerly called “Active With Contingencies” (AWC). ARMLS renamed it in December 2012 to better describe its actual purpose: the listing is under contract, and the seller wants backups. The name change matters because buyers who see “Active” on a third-party site may not realize they are looking at a UCB listing with an existing deal in place.
CCBS: Contract Contingent on Buyer Sale
CCBS is the other Active sub-status. Like UCB, the seller has accepted an offer and is taking backup offers. The distinguishing feature: the existing contract is specifically contingent on the buyer selling their own home first.
This adds a second transaction in the chain. The CCBS deal has a higher failure rate than a standard UCB deal because there are now two closings that must succeed: the current buyer’s home sale and then this purchase. If the current buyer’s sale falls through for any reason — their buyer backs out, their buyer’s financing fails, their buyer exercises an inspection cancellation — the entire chain can collapse.
From a backup buyer’s perspective, a CCBS listing is a more attractive backup position than a UCB where the current buyer has cleared all contingencies. The CCBS deal is exposed to external variables the current buyer cannot fully control. A backup buyer positioned on a CCBS listing should be ready to move quickly if the contingency falls through — the seller will want to convert the backup to a primary contract without re-entering the Active market.
Pending: Off Market and Counting Down
When a seller accepts an offer and decides they do NOT want backup offers — either because they are confident in the deal or because they simply do not want additional showings — the listing goes to Pending. ARMLS says: a Pending listing has an accepted offer and is no longer being marketed for sale.
Three significant consequences of Pending status: the listing disappears from most consumer-facing third-party sites; the ARMLS Days on Market counter stops on the day the listing goes Pending; and the seller’s agent is generally not scheduling additional showings unless the current deal collapses and the seller restores Active status.
A listing can move from UCB or CCBS to Pending after contingencies are resolved. A listing can also drop from Pending back to Active if the accepted offer falls through and the seller decides to re-enter the market. That re-entry is visible in the MLS status history and will show up in the DOM calculation.
How ARMLS Days on Market Is Calculated
DOM in ARMLS is cumulative from the date the property first entered Active status to the date the listing moved to a non-marketing status (Pending, Closed, Cancelled, Expired, or Temp Off Market). Key rules:
DOM does NOT stop when a listing goes UCB or CCBS. Because UCB and CCBS are sub-statuses of Active — the listing is still being marketed — the counter keeps running. A property that sits in UCB for 45 days while its inspection period drags out, then falls back to Active, has 45 more days on its DOM clock than it did before the first offer came in.
DOM is cumulative across listings for the same property. If a listing expires at 90 days, is relisted, and goes under contract again at day 30 of the new listing, the MLS system accumulates the full history. This is how ARMLS prevents DOM reset games where a listing is cancelled and immediately relisted to make a stale property appear fresh.
DOM stops on the day the listing goes Pending. That date — not the close of escrow date — ends the DOM counter. The time between Pending and Closed (typically 30–45 days in Phoenix) does not count against the listing’s DOM.
What Third-Party Sites Get Wrong About Active Status
Zillow, Realtor.com, and Redfin receive data feeds from ARMLS but do not always translate the status system accurately or in real time. Two common problems:
UCB and CCBS displayed as simply “Active.” Because UCB and CCBS are sub-statuses within the Active category in ARMLS, some third-party platforms display them as “Active” without the sub-status distinction. A buyer searching Zillow and seeing “Active” has no way to know whether the property is a clean Available listing or a UCB with an existing contract unless the platform specifically surfaces the sub-status or the buyer’s agent checks ARMLS directly.
Pending listings may remain visible for 24–48 hours after the status change. ARMLS data feeds to third-party platforms on a schedule, not in real time. A property that went Pending in ARMLS on Monday morning may still appear as Active on Zillow Monday evening. Buyers who schedule showings based on Zillow data without their agent confirming live ARMLS status risk wasting time on a property that is already off the market.
How Status Affects the Inventory Count
One nuance worth understanding for buyers reading market reports: ARMLS’ Research Business Intelligence (RBI) arm includes UCB listings in its Active Inventory count for market analysis purposes. When you read that Phoenix had 24,358 Active listings in January 2026, that figure excludes UCB and CCBS (which are counted separately in the under-contract total of 7,478). Other reporting contexts include UCB in Active inventory.
The distinction matters when comparing market data from different sources. A figure from one source calling out “24,358 active” may exclude UCB/CCBS; another source citing a higher inventory number may include them. Neither is wrong — they are using different counting conventions. When evaluating supply data for a West Valley submarket, confirm which statuses are included in the inventory figure being cited.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Active status mean in Phoenix real estate listings?
In ARMLS, Active means no ratified purchase contract exists. The property is available, can be toured, and is accepting offers. Active also includes two sub-statuses — UCB and CCBS — where an accepted offer already exists. A clean Active listing (no sub-status) is the only one where a buyer can make a standard offer without competing against an existing contract.
What is the difference between Active, UCB, and CCBS in Arizona MLS?
Active: no contract, fully available. UCB (Under Contract-Backups): accepted offer in place, seller wants backup offers by written request. CCBS (Contract Contingent on Buyer Sale): same as UCB but the existing contract is specifically contingent on the buyer selling their own home first, adding a second transaction in the chain and a higher fallthrough risk.
What does Pending mean in Phoenix real estate?
Pending means the seller accepted an offer and chose not to continue marketing for backup offers. The listing disappears from most third-party sites. The ARMLS Days on Market counter stops on the day the listing goes Pending. The seller is not scheduling showings. A buyer who sees Pending should generally move on.
How does ARMLS calculate Days on Market in Phoenix?
DOM runs from the date the property first entered Active status to the date it goes Pending (or another non-marketing status). DOM does NOT stop when a listing goes UCB or CCBS — only when it goes Pending. DOM is cumulative across relists of the same property. January 2026: average DOM was 94 days, median was 71 days.
Can I still make an offer on a UCB or CCBS listing in Phoenix?
Yes — backup offers are the explicit purpose of those statuses. However, a backup offer only activates if the current deal falls through. Before pursuing, have your agent find out how far through the inspection period the current buyer is, whether contingencies remain active, and how the deal is financed. If the current buyer has cleared all contingencies, the backup position has low value.
Why does Zillow show a property as Active when it is actually under contract?
Third-party sites receive ARMLS data feeds that do not always update in real time and may not distinguish ARMLS sub-statuses accurately. UCB and CCBS listings (which have accepted offers) may display as simply “Active” on Zillow because the platform shows all Active-category statuses without the sub-status distinction. Always have your agent verify live ARMLS status before acting on a third-party site’s display.
What does Temp Off Market mean in Phoenix real estate?
Temp Off Market (TOM) means the seller has paused marketing — no showings, no active promotion — but the listing contract has not been cancelled. The listing can return to Active. Common reasons: seller travel, renovation in progress, estate or legal resolution pending. A TOM listing is not available to tour or offer on during the TOM period.
What is Coming Soon status in Phoenix ARMLS?
Coming Soon allows an agent to register a listing in ARMLS before it goes officially Active, giving the seller time to prepare without triggering the DOM counter or showing requirements. ARMLS rules limit how long a listing can stay in Coming Soon before it must go Active. Buyers notified of Coming Soon listings through their agent’s network may be able to preview the property before it hits the open market.
See a Listing You Like? Know What Status It’s Really In.
The status on Zillow is not always the status in ARMLS. Ron and Jill pull live data for every property before a showing is scheduled — so you know whether you’re looking at a clean opportunity, a backup position worth pursuing, or a property that’s already sold and just hasn’t disappeared from the portal yet.
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