A listing status tells you where a property sits in the selling process. In Ontario, the labels you see most often on Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) feeds are Active, Sold Conditional, Sold, Terminated, Expired, and Suspended. Each one says something different about whether the home is actually available, so reading them correctly keeps you from chasing places that are already gone.
Active is the simple one. The home is on the market and the seller is taking offers. This is where most buyers spend their browsing time.
Sold Conditional is where people get tripped up. A buyer and seller have agreed on a price, but the deal still hangs on one or more conditions being met, often financing, a home inspection, or the review of a status certificate. Nothing is final yet. In some cases the seller keeps accepting backup offers while those conditions clear. For the full mechanics, read our explainer on what a conditional offer is in Ontario.
Sold, with no "conditional" attached, means the conditions were waived or there were none to begin with. The agreement is firm and the property is off the market. That no-strings version is covered in our piece on what a firm offer is.
The last three all describe a home that came off the market without selling. Terminated means the seller and their brokerage ended the listing agreement early, and the MLS number is retired for good. When a listing shows Expired, the agreement simply reached its end date and lapsed on its own. Suspended, sometimes displayed as withdrawn, is different again: the home has been pulled temporarily while the contract with the agent stays in place, so it can come back later. All three trace back to the listing agreement the seller signed at the start.
One practical note. A Terminated or Expired home is not necessarily off the table forever. Sellers often relist, sometimes at a new price or with a new agent, so a status that looks like a dead end today can quietly reappear a few weeks later.
Related reading: what a conditional offer is in Ontario, what a firm offer is, and what a listing agreement is.
