What's the difference between "Option Pending" and "Pending" on a Flower Mound listing? Option Pending means the buyer is inside the Texas option period and can still walk away for any reason, and under the North Texas MLS rules the home stays available for showings and backup offers while that window runs. Pending means the option period has already ended (or was never negotiated), the contract has no contingencies or kick-outs left, the seller has asked for no more showings, and the deal is expected to close. If a seller wants to keep taking backups after the option period, the listing shows Active Contingent instead of Pending.

Last updated November 4, 2026. Status definitions are from the MetroTex (NTREIS) MLS status definition and purge rules read November 3, 2026; contract mechanics are from the TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale) and the Texas REALTORS guidance on the April 2021 option-fee change.

If you've been watching a Flower Mound listing flip from Active to Option Pending to Pending and wondering exactly what changed each time, you're not imagining a distinction. NTREIS, the MLS that covers Flower Mound and the rest of North Texas, tracks these as genuinely different statuses with different rules attached, and neither one means what most buyers assume it means. And if the one you were watching just went under contract, the current Flower Mound homes for sale are one click away.

What "Option Pending" actually means in Texas

Every Texas residential contract written on the standard TREC form includes an option period. It's Paragraph 5 of the contract, and it gives the buyer an unrestricted right to terminate for any reason, no explanation required, as long as they do it before the option period expires. Buyers pay a small option fee for this right, usually somewhere between $100 and $500 depending on how competitive the offer is, and the period itself typically runs 5 to 10 days from the contract's effective date. Since April 2021 the option fee goes to the title company within three days of the effective date, together with the earnest money, rather than to the seller directly; the seller keeps it if the buyer terminates, and it is credited to the buyer at closing if the sale goes through. Our post on how the option period works when buying in Flower Mound walks through the window day by day, and how earnest money works covers the deposit that travels with it.

When a Flower Mound listing shows Option Pending, here's what that status is actually telling you: a buyer and seller have a signed contract, and that buyer is currently inside their option window, most likely getting an inspection done and deciding whether to move forward, renegotiate, or walk. NTREIS calls this status AOC, Active Option Contract, in the underlying MLS data, though most consumer-facing sites just show "Option Pending," "Pending," or "Contingent" depending on how they pull the field.

The detail that surprises most buyers: under the MLS definition, an Active Option Contract listing is still available for showings and the seller can still accept backup offers. The home is not off the market yet; it is spoken for, with the buyer holding a walk-away right. In practice, whether the listing agent actually schedules showings or submits a backup during those few days is the seller's call, and plenty of sellers prefer to let the first buyer finish their inspection in peace. But the status itself does not close the door. The statuses that do are Pending, which means no more showings and no backups, and the ones that keep it open on purpose are Active Contingent (AC) and Active Kick Out (AKO), which we cover below.

What "Pending" means, and why it's different

Once the option period ends, and the buyer decides to move forward, the listing status changes again. NTREIS defines Pending (PND) as a property under contract with no contingencies, kick-outs, or open option periods left, where the seller has requested no further showings and no backup offers. Critically, Pending listings in NTREIS don't expire. They stay Pending until the transaction closes, however long that takes.

This is the point in a Flower Mound transaction where things are genuinely closer to done. Financing and appraisal contingencies (if there were any) are usually still working in the background, but the buyer has already exercised or waived their right to walk away for any reason. Barring an appraisal problem, a financing collapse, or a title issue, a Pending listing in Flower Mound is heading to closing. When one of those does go wrong, our posts on a low appraisal, a loan that falls through and a delayed closing explain what happens next.

Every NTREIS status a Flower Mound listing can carry

Portals shorten these to two or three words, so it helps to know the full set the MLS actually uses. Here is the list, in roughly the order a listing moves through them:

• Coming Soon (CSN). Entered at the seller's request before the home goes live; showings are not allowed, and the listing has to move to Active within 30 days. If you want to see these before they hit the portals, our post on buying a Flower Mound home before it hits the market explains how.
• Active (ACT). For sale and available for showings. Expires on the listing agreement's expiration date.
• Active Option Contract (AOC), shown as "Option Pending." An offer is accepted and the buyer is in the option period. Showings and backup offers continue.
• Active Contingent (AC). An offer is accepted and the seller has asked that the home stay available for showings and backup offers. This is the status a seller uses to keep taking backups after the option period ends.
• Active Kick Out (AKO). The accepted offer depends on the buyer selling another property (the TXR sale-of-other-property addendum, Form 1908). The seller can keep showing and, if a better offer arrives, give the first buyer a short window to drop the contingency or step aside. Common in Flower Mound, where so many buyers are selling one home to buy the next; our guide to selling and buying at the same time covers how to structure it.
• Pending (PND). Under contract with no contingencies, kick-outs, or options; no more showings, no backups; does not expire until it closes.
• Closed (SLD). Sold and closed. The listing stays in the MLS as a comparable sale.
• Hold, Withdrawn, Cancelled and Expired. The off-market statuses. Hold (formerly Temp Off Market) is a short pause while the listing agreement stays in force; Withdrawn and Cancelled mean the seller and broker ended the listing on different terms; Expired means the agreement ran out. None of these is "sold."

One status you will see on Houston-area listings but not in NTREIS is "Pending Continue to Show." North Texas does not use it; the equivalent here is Active Contingent.

What Zillow, Realtor.com and Redfin show instead

The portals do not display the NTREIS codes. They translate them, and each one translates a little differently, which is where a lot of the confusion starts. As a rule, Active Option Contract, Active Contingent and Active Kick Out all tend to surface as "Contingent," "Pending" or "Under contract" with a note, and the plain Pending status shows as "Pending." The only way to know which of the three active-under-contract statuses a Flower Mound home is actually in is to have an agent read the MLS record, which takes a minute and is worth asking for before you decide whether to pursue a home or let it go.

Can you still make an offer on an Option Pending or Pending home?

Technically, yes, in the sense that nothing stops you from writing a contract. Practically, it depends on which status the home is in and what the seller wants.

If a Flower Mound listing is Option Pending, the MLS status allows a backup, so the first move is to have your agent call the listing agent and ask whether the seller is taking one. Some will, especially on a home that drew multiple offers. Others will say to wait the few days and see. Homes do come back on the market out of option period. It happens when an inspection turns up something significant, when financing falls through early, or when a buyer just gets cold feet, and Flower Mound's tight inventory in the $1M to $2M range means agents watching a specific listing sometimes catch it within hours of it reactivating. Our post on what happens when a buyer walks after the option period covers the seller's side of that moment.

If a Flower Mound listing is Active Contingent or Active Kick Out, a backup contract is explicitly on the table, and it's a real legal position, not a consolation prize. Here's how it works under the TREC Addendum for "Back-Up" Contract:

• Your backup contract is fully signed and binding, but it's contingent on the first contract terminating. Nothing happens on your end until that occurs.
• You still pay your earnest money and any option fee within three days of your backup contract's effective date, exactly as if it were a primary contract.
• Your own option period and every other deadline doesn't start running until the first contract officially terminates. The day you're notified of that termination becomes your new "amended effective date."
• The addendum includes an outside date. If the first contract hasn't terminated by then, your backup contract terminates too, and you get your earnest money back (though not your option fee, since that already compensated the seller for taking the home off full-market circulation for a stretch).

For a family who's already found the Flower Mound home they want, backup position isn't a bad place to be. It costs you nothing but earnest money you'd have to put down anyway, and it puts you first in line if the primary contract falls through, which happens often enough in a market with real inspection and appraisal contingencies that it's worth the wait.

If the home is plain Pending, assume the seller means it. You can ask your agent to leave a note with the listing agent in case the contract dies, and then keep looking; our post on whether you can back out of a home contract in Flower Mound explains why a Pending deal rarely unwinds on the buyer's side alone.

What this means if you're selling in Flower Mound

If you're on the seller side of a Flower Mound transaction, the status your agent chooses after accepting an offer isn't just paperwork, it shapes your options if the first buyer walks. Moving straight to Pending once the option period ends closes the door on backups entirely. Choosing Active Contingent keeps a second buyer available without adding real risk to your primary deal, since a backup contract only activates if the first one dies. In a market where Flower Mound's move-up buyers are often juggling their own home sale alongside their purchase, having a qualified backup lined up can save weeks if the first contract collapses over financing or an appraisal gap.

Two related calls land at the same moment. If more than one offer arrives, our post on handling multiple offers on a Flower Mound home covers how to pick the strongest one, and if the best offer depends on the buyer selling first, our post on whether to accept a contingent offer explains the kick-out clause that lets you say yes without being stuck.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "Option Pending" mean on a Flower Mound MLS listing?

Option Pending means a buyer and seller have a signed contract and the buyer is currently inside the Texas option period, the negotiated window (typically 5 to 10 days) during which the buyer can terminate the contract for any reason without losing their earnest money. In NTREIS the status is Active Option Contract, and the home stays available for showings and backup offers unless the seller chooses otherwise.

Is "Pending" the same as "sold" in Texas?

No. Pending means the buyer's option period has ended and the contract has no remaining contingencies, kick-outs, or options, but the sale hasn't closed yet. Financing and appraisal issues can still delay or, rarely, unwind a Pending transaction before closing.

Can I make an offer on a home that's Option Pending in Flower Mound?

Yes. The MLS status permits backup offers during the option period, so have your agent ask the listing agent whether the seller is taking one. If the seller declines, watch the listing in case it returns to Active, which does happen when inspections or financing derail the first contract.

How long does a listing stay Option Pending?

As long as the option period in the contract, which in Flower Mound usually runs 5 to 10 days from the effective date. When the period ends, the listing moves to Pending, or to Active Contingent if the seller wants to keep taking backups, or back to Active if the buyer terminated.

What is the difference between Active Contingent and Pending?

Both mean the home is under contract. Active Contingent means the seller has asked to keep the home available for showings and backup offers; Pending means the seller wants no further showings and no backups, and the contract has no contingencies, kick-outs or options left.

What is a backup contract, and is it worth submitting one?

A backup contract, formalized under the TREC Addendum for "Back-Up" Contract, is a fully binding contract that only takes effect if the seller's primary contract terminates. You pay earnest money and any option fee upfront, but your own option period doesn't start until you're notified the first contract ended. For a Flower Mound buyer set on a specific home, it's a low-risk way to stay in line for it.

Why would a Flower Mound seller choose Active Contingent instead of moving straight to Pending?

Active Contingent keeps the home visible for backup offers even after the buyer's option period ends. It gives the seller a ready replacement buyer if the primary contract falls apart over financing, appraisal, or another issue, without changing anything about how the current contract proceeds.

Thinking Through a Flower Mound Purchase or Sale?

Whether you're watching a specific listing move through these statuses or trying to decide how to handle your own contract as a seller, the details matter more than they look like they should. If you'd like to talk through where you are and what your best next move looks like, schedule a free Strategy Call, a 30-minute, no-pitch conversation about your specific situation. Brian White is a Flower Mound real estate agent who reads these status changes every day.

Let's build your future together. And remember... God is good. Jesus has forgiven you. You are loved. Everything is possible.

Related reading:

• How the Option Period Works When Buying in Flower Mound
• Can You Back Out of a Home Contract in Flower Mound, TX?
• What Does a Flower Mound Title Company Actually Do?
• What Happens If the Seller Backs Out in Flower Mound, TX?

About Brian White

Brian White helps families in Northwest DFW make their move-up cleanly, selling and buying in one synchronized step. He built BlueFuse Group on a simple standard: other-first service, proactive at every turn, faith and excellence in equal measure. Brian has been married to Tisha for 27 years and is dad to three adult sons. When he's not protecting a family's equity or untangling a tight closing timeline, you'll find him chasing a round of golf or at Valley Creek Church.

Schedule a Free Strategy Call... no pitch, just a clear-headed look at your next move.