Can I make my listing active when it’s still under contract but the buyer has disappeared?

QUESTION: One of my listings is under contract and scheduled to close in one week, but the buyer has disappeared and is no longer communicating with their agent. The buyer’s agent told me that he tried to get the buyer to sign a termination, but the buyer refused to do so. The buyer instead told their agent that they are moving to another state and to let my seller know that they will not be at closing. My seller is obviously very frustrated. Is the buyer’s agent’s statement enough to terminate the contract? Can I make the listing active again right now? Can my client sign a contract with another buyer?

ANSWER: In this case, the statement from the buyer’s agent does not sound like a termination. If MLS rules permit, you may mark your client’s property as active. However, since you do not have a clear termination, you need to disclose this situation to any prospective buyers, and your client should only accept back-up offers unless the seller’s legal counsel advises otherwise.

Regarding termination, there is no signed termination from the buyer in your facts, and the buyer’s agent only said that their client is not coming to closing, which is not the same as a termination. It is not possible to know what the full conversation between the buyer and their agent was, and that means you cannot know if there was a miscommunication or not. Even though it is not likely, it is still technically possible in your situation that the buyer could come back and try to complete closing. This situation is very different than the facts of this Q&A, where the buyer’s agent made clear that their client intended to terminate.

As for going back under contract, any fact regarding a principal’s inability to complete a transaction must be disclosed as a material fact. This means that until the possibility of this buyer’s return is removed, you must disclose this situation to other potential buyers. In addition to this disclosure, Standard of Practice 1-7 states, in part:

REALTORS® shall not be obligated to continue to market the property after an offer has been accepted by the seller/landlord. REALTORS® shall recommend that sellers/landlords obtain the advice of legal counsel prior to acceptance of a subsequent offer, except where the acceptance is contingent on the termination of the pre-existing purchase contract or lease. (Amended 1/20) (Highlighting added.)

The safe harbor in this case is for your seller to wait until the eighth day after the Settlement Date, and then send their own unilateral termination on Form 352-T. However, if your seller does not want to wait that long, then SOP 1-7 and the License Law both require that you strongly advise your seller, in writing, to seek legal counsel before accepting anything other than a back-up contract. If the seller’s legal counsel informs the seller in writing that they can sign an offer without a Back-up Contract Addendum, then the seller may do so.

Finally, many MLSs will permit a listing agent in your circumstances to mark the property as “active” again, but you will want to check with your MLS to make sure it is permissible under their rules. Just make sure that you fully and clearly disclose the current situation to every buyer until a clear termination of the existing contract is obtained.

Release Date: 5/21/2026

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