You find the perfect home while scrolling through a homebuying app and immediately imagine your life inside it: the mornings in the kitchen, the quiet evenings in the living room, the future you could build there. You check the details, ready to schedule a showing, only to notice a small note about its status. The listing is still visible, but it has a status note showing it’s under contract with conditions: “active contingent.”
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In real estate, active contingent is like a warning that the door isn’t fully closed, but it’s not fully open either. In this post, we’ll break down what that status really means, the common contingencies behind it, and what options buyers still have when they find a home they love at this stage.
What does active contingent mean?
An active contingent listing means that the seller has accepted an offer from a buyer, but certain conditions haven’t been met yet. These conditions are known as contingencies, which is where the term active contingent comes from.
Contingencies can benefit both the buyers and the sellers, but they tend to benefit buyers slightly more. If a contingency isn’t met, then buyers can back out of a deal without any repercussions, and they can get their earnest money back. Common contingencies include issues with appraisals, home inspections, or the buyer’s home sale.
In simple terms, the main offer on an active contingent home can still fall through, which could send the listing back on the market or open the door for a backup buyer.
“I try to be as upfront with [buyers] as possible and let them know what they’re getting into [with an active contingent listing],” says Warren Barnes, a real estate agent based in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Barnes has completed 8% more deals than the average agent in his area. So he knows all the twists and turns that can occur between an accepted offer and a closed sale. He says that he’s seen primary offers fall through due to home inspections and appraisal issues when buyers and sellers cannot come to an agreement on new terms and conditions.
Active contingent vs pending explained
How is an active contingent listing different from a pending listing?
To recap, an active contingent listing means the seller has already accepted an offer, but the deal still has conditions that need to be met first, like financing, inspection, or appraisal. So the sale isn’t final yet, and the home can still show up as active and may still take backup offers.
A pending listing is further along. It means those conditions have already been cleared or waived, and the home is basically on its way to closing.
Pending deals are usually more solid than active contingent ones, but they can still fall through sometimes, which is why backup offers can still be considered in some cases.
Common types of real estate contingencies
Now that we’ve covered what “active contingent” and “pending” mean, it helps to look at what’s actually driving those statuses in the first place. Most of the time, it comes down to specific conditions that still need to be met before a sale can close. These conditions are called contingencies, and they play a big role in how a deal moves forward. Here are some of the common types of contingencies:
Inspection contingencies
Inspection contingencies mean that a buyer can get a home inspected before the deal goes through and can back out of the purchase with earnest money intact, depending on what the inspector finds.
Inspection contingencies can be waived. Some buyers might give up the home inspection to speed things up and help their offer stand out. About 19% of buyers waived their home inspection contingencies in April, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports.
Appraisal contingencies
An appraisal contingency allows a buyer to walk away from a sale if, after an appraisal is completed, the value of the home is found to be less than the purchase price. This is one of the most commonly waived contingencies, with 16% of buyers going without an appraisal, according to NAR data.
However, your mortgage lender will not loan you more money than a house is worth, so if the appraisal determines that the sales price is higher than the home’s actual value, as the buyer, you’ll need to be prepared to come up with the money to make up any difference.
Home sale contingencies
A home sale contingency allows buyers a specified amount of time, usually between 30 and 60 days, to sell their current home. If your home doesn’t sell in that time, you can back out of the deal, with your earnest money intact.
In 2025, 61% of buyers owned a previous residence, NAR reports. So, home sale contingencies are fairly common.
Settlement contingencies
Settlement contingencies are similar to home sale contingencies. In these cases, a buyer already has an offer on their previous home, but they need to make sure the sale closes (or “settles”) in order to buy their new house.
If the existing sale is delayed or falls through, the buyer may not be able to move forward with the purchase of the new property. Because of this added uncertainty, sellers may continue accepting backup offers while waiting for the settlement to go through. Nonetheless, settlement contingencies protect the buyer from being obligated to purchase a new home before the sale of their current property is finalized.
Financing contingencies
Buyers who purchase their homes using a home loan typically use mortgage contingencies, which give them time to apply for and receive the loan needed for the deal to go through. And if you can’t get financed for the house, you won’t still be obligated to buy it.
You’ll likely need this type of contingency even if you’ve been preapproved for a mortgage, as that process does not guarantee that you’ll get a loan. Financing contingencies may also be called loan contingencies.
Buyers can theoretically waive this type of contingency, but it’s ill-advised unless you happen to also have the cash in hand to buy the house outright.
Title contingencies
A title is the legal right to own a property. A title search reveals who has owned the home in the past and in the present, and whether there are any recorded liens, claims, or judgments made against the home. Before you purchase a home, your attorney or title company will review the home’s title to make sure that it can be legally transferred to you.
Very rarely, there will be issues with the title report that cannot be solved before closing. Most commonly, issues may arise if there’s a dispute over ownership, likely due to family disputes or divorce proceedings, or if there are any liens against the property due to debts owed to contractors, unpaid taxes, or bankruptcy.
In these cases, title contingencies protect the buyer by allowing them to back out of the sale. Title contingencies cannot be waived.
Zoning contingencies
Most buyers won’t need to worry about zoning contingencies. If you’re buying a residential property and you plan to continue using it as a place to live, there should be no issues.
Still, it’s worth noting that if you want to change the use of your new property, say, turning the first floor into retail or commercial office space, you’ll likely need proper approval and permitting that may extend beyond the typical closing period.
Zoning contingencies can keep you protected in this situation by preserving your right to back out of the deal if you can’t get the permits lined up.
Bank or court approval contingencies
Sometimes, a bank or a court may need to give its approval before a sale can proceed. Bank contingencies protect buyers in these circumstances and allow them to get their earnest money back if a sale cannot go through.
Bank approvals most often arise in a short sale or other distressed property scenario. In a short sale, a seller will sell their home for less than the amount that they owe on their mortgage, and their lender may forgive the remaining debt.
Buyers will likely want a bank approval contingency in this case so that they are protected in case the bank does not approve the sale. Court approvals are also sometimes needed in divorce settlements and estate sales.
These types of contingencies cannot be waived.
»Learn more: Whether you’re including contingencies or considering waiving some, earnest money can play a role in how strong your offer looks. Use our earnest money calculator to estimate a deposit amount that aligns with your homebuying goals.
Can you still make an offer on an active contingent listing?
The short answer is: yes. But even though you can still make an offer on an active contingent listing, it’s important to be realistic.
Though the number varies from year-to-year and month-to-month, Barnes estimates that there is only a 5% to 10% chance that a primary offer will fall through. Only 5% of contracts in the past three months were ultimately terminated, according to NAR’s April 2026 Realtors Confidence Index survey. Barnes says that this figure is common in markets with low inventory.
“In a market like this, when there’s low inventory, and it’s pretty competitive as a buyer, there is a lesser chance that their backup offer is going to get accepted,” Barnes says.
Why might an active contingent deal fall through?
Though contingent deals are unlikely to fall through, it can still happen. There are a number of reasons an active contingent deal may fall through.
The first buyer may not be able to sell their home, or they may be unable to secure financing. In these cases, you might be able to swoop in and get the home of your dreams fairly easily if you’ve already been preapproved for a mortgage or if you don’t have a previous home on the market.
Other cases can be trickier. In some cases, the home inspection may reveal some issues that the buyer doesn’t want to deal with or that the seller doesn’t plan to repair.
Sometimes the listing will give you a sense of how committed the seller is to the original offer. Here, we dive into four different types of active contingent listings and what they might mean for buyers interested in making a back-up offer.
Contingent with a kick-out
If a contingent offer has a kick-out clause, that means the seller can accept a better offer from a new buyer if one comes along. Kick-out clauses frequently appear in contracts with home sale contingencies because they allow the seller to back out and give the first buyer their earnest money back if a more enticing offer comes along.
Even with a kick-out clause, sellers will typically go back to the first buyer and give them time (72 hours is typical) to respond by improving their original offer. So, even if you have a better offer, a kick-out clause won’t necessarily guarantee that the house will become yours.
Contingent without a kick-out
A contingent without a kick-out clause, on the other hand, means that the seller can’t just accept a better offer if it emerges. This type of active contingent listing is better for primary buyers as it means a seller can’t just back out of a deal because a better one came along.
If you’re looking at making a backup offer on an active contingent property without a kick-out clause, know that these deals are usually a bit firmer and less likely to fall through.
Contingent, continue to show
An active contingent listing with a “to show” clause means that the seller is currently allowing backup buyers to view the property. This may mean that although the seller has accepted an offer, there are multiple contingencies to address. A seller who is continuing to show their home may be on the market for a buyer with fewer stipulations in their offer.
Contingent no-show
Alternatively, an active contingent listing with a no-show clause means that the seller is not allowing potential backup buyers to view the property.
Sellers with an active contingent offer who are no longer showing the property may feel more confident that their deal will close, making them less likely to seek backup offers.
How to make your backup offer successful
If you’re in love with a home that has an active contingent offer, it can’t hurt to pull your best offer together in case the first deal falls through. Barnes shared some tips for buyers on how to put together a winning back-up offer.
Learn as much as you can about the current offer
The more information you have about the primary offer, the more competitive your backup offer will be. One of the first things Barnes recommends buyers considering an offer on an active contingent do is work with their agent to learn as much as they can about the primary offer.
“I recommend my clients have me reach out to the listing agent to get more information on the primary offer and what we can do to present a backup offer that’s going to be better than the one they have on the table,” Barnes says.
Sellers’ agents might be tight-lipped, but your buyer’s agent should be able to help you figure out how to ask questions that indirectly lead to more information. Asking about kick-out clauses, whether an appraisal has been completed, and other details about the home is fair game.
“The listing agent is probably going to be holding their cards pretty close to their chest,” Barnes says. “Instead of asking for direct information, you can try to loosen them up by asking for more indirect information.”
Ask for a copy of the home inspection and updated seller’s disclosures
Before making a backup offer on an active contingent property, it’s important to ensure that you actually want to buy the home. Looking at a home inspection report or an updated seller’s disclosure (in states that require them) can provide peace of mind.
Barnes says that deals often fall through because the first buyer and the seller can’t come to an agreement about deficiencies found in the home inspection report. If you can get a copy of the report, you might be able to make your backup offer stronger by agreeing to waive an inspection contingency.
Offer a higher purchase price
Money talks! One of the best ways you can increase the chance of your offer being accepted, especially if there is a kick-out clause, is to offer the seller more money.
“Although you don’t know what the primary offer is, and what the pricing terms that were accepted, I would say you want to match that or maybe do a little bit better,” Barnes notes.
Instead of asking what amount the primary offer is for, Barnes recommends asking whether the offer is below or above the asking price, for instance. That way, you can get a sense of what number you need to meet to make a competitive backup offer.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about active contingent listings
There’s no exact timeline for how long a home stays active contingent, but it often lasts anywhere from 30 to 60 days. The length depends on how quickly the buyer can satisfy contingencies like financing, inspection, or selling their current home. In some cases, it can wrap up sooner or stretch out longer depending on the situation.
Yes, an active contingent home is still technically on the market, but it already has an accepted offer with conditions attached. The seller may still show the home or accept backup offers, depending on the agreement. However, the original buyer usually has priority as long as contingencies are being met.
Buyers should first ask their agent to review the specific contingency details and how strong the current deal looks. If the home is still appealing, they may consider submitting a backup offer in case the current deal falls through. At the same time, it’s smart to keep exploring other listings so you don’t miss out on additional opportunities.
It’s generally too late to back out once all contingencies have been removed or have expired. At that point, backing out could put your earnest money and possibly your contract in jeopardy.
Here are the key legal implications when you back out of a contingent offer:
- You’re usually safe during active contingencies: If you back out while contingencies like inspection or financing are still active, you can typically cancel without penalties as long as you do it properly under the contract.
- You could lose your earnest money after contingencies expire: Once contingencies are removed or deadlines pass, backing out can put your deposit at risk since the seller may be entitled to keep it.
- You may face breach of contract issues: If you cancel without a valid contractual reason, the seller could claim breach of contract and potentially pursue legal action or damages. This can also hurt your reputation with agents and sellers, making future offers look less serious or less trustworthy.
A seller can’t usually back out just because they changed their mind after accepting an offer. They may only be able to walk away if certain contract contingencies aren’t met or if the buyer agrees to cancel.
Get Expert Help with Contingent Listings
Navigating active contingent listings can be confusing, especially if you’re unsure whether making an offer is worth it. Partner with an experienced agent who can explain the status, assess your chances, and guide your next steps.
Make a competitive offer guided by an expert
An active contingent listing can feel a little confusing when a home looks available but already has an accepted offer. The good news is that contingent deals don’t always work out, so the home you have your eye on could still become available.
Knowing how contingencies work can help you understand where a deal stands and whether it’s worth submitting a backup offer. It can also help you avoid overlooking homes that may still be within reach. The more you understand these listing statuses, the better prepared you’ll be when the right home comes along.
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