Coming Soon Listings in New Jersey: What Sellers Should Know
Published | Posted by Dennis Mark Interdonato
- Home Marketing
- Home Selling
- Listing Strategy
- Real Estate Marketing
A "Coming Soon" listing is a home that's being marketed before it's available to see or buy, and how one works in New Jersey depends on the rules of the MLS the listing goes into. The marketing can start well before the first showing, but what goes public, and when, follows those rules, and your listing agent should explain them to you before anything is posted.
I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato with The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living. Here's what the national policies say, what your MLS decides, and what you can do in the meantime.
What does "Coming Soon" mean?
The National Association of REALTORS® defines a "coming soon" listing as "a listed or unlisted property that is not available for showing or sale until a later date." NAR says it can be a legitimate advertising technique that gives owners more time to complete repairs, pack or otherwise get the property ready, and that a legitimate one complies with state law, MLS rules and NAR's Code of Ethics.
There isn't one national version of it. NAR's guidance on assessing Coming Soon listings says "NAR does not have a national policy regarding coming soon statuses," and that listing statuses are matters of local discretion, with each MLS deciding the statuses for its own marketplace.
What does NAR's Clear Cooperation Policy say?
The Clear Cooperation Policy, adopted in November 2019 according to NAR's policy page, says that within one business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS so other MLS participants can cooperate on it.
NAR's list of public marketing includes, but isn't limited to, flyers displayed in windows, yard signs, digital marketing on public-facing websites, brokerage website displays (including IDX), email blasts, multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and apps available to the general public. By that list, a Coming Soon sign in the yard is public marketing.
In March 2025, NAR also clarified that one-to-one, broker-to-broker conversations about a listing don't trigger the policy, but communications that reach multiple brokerages count as public marketing.
What changed for sellers in 2025?
On March 25, 2025, NAR adopted a policy called Multiple Listing Options for Sellers, which MLSs had to put in place by September 30, 2025. It kept the Clear Cooperation Policy and added an option called a delayed marketing exempt listing. According to NAR's pages:
- The seller can direct the listing broker to delay public marketing through IDX and syndication, the feeds that send a listing to other real estate websites, for a period the local MLS allows.
- The listing is still filed with the MLS and stays available to other MLS participants through the MLS platform, so they can tell their buyers about it.
- Each MLS decides how long the delay can be for its own market.
- Before delaying, the seller signs a disclosure documenting their informed consent to give up the benefits of immediate public marketing through IDX and syndication. The same disclosure applies to office exclusive listings.
NAR's guidance notes that some MLSs have a Coming Soon status or something similar, such as a delayed marketing exempt listing, each subject to that MLS's local rules.
Who decides how Coming Soon works for your home?
Your local MLS does, through its rules, and your listing agent explains them. I'm not going to guess at any MLS's rules here, because they change and they differ. These are the questions to ask before you agree to a Coming Soon launch:
- Does the MLS have a Coming Soon status, and how long can a home stay in it?
- Can the home be shown while it's Coming Soon, by anyone?
- Do the days on market count during that time?
- When does the listing reach the IDX websites and the big home search sites?
- What will I sign, and what am I agreeing to give up?
This is general information, not legal advice. Your listing agent and their broker can tell you exactly how your MLS handles it.
How can the marketing start before showings?
Most of a launch is built before anything goes public. The work behind the scenes doesn't announce the home to anyone, so it can start as soon as you decide to sell:
- Preparation. Decluttering, repairs, paint and staging. See decluttering before selling a home in New Jersey.
- Media. Professional photos, video, drone work where it fits, and a 3D tour and floor plan. Here's what a floor plan tells a buyer.
- The property website. Built and ready, with the photos, video and details in place.
- The ads and posts. Written and designed, so they go out on launch day.
- The open house plan. Dates set, signs ordered, invitations drafted.
- The price. A market evaluation done, so the price is set for the market you're about to sell in. Start with the home value tool.
On my listings, a Coming Soon flyer is one piece a plan can include. When it's part of the plan, it has to follow NAR's policy and the MLS's rules, and everything else should be ready to follow it.
Should you build buzz with Coming Soon, or launch everything at once?
It depends on the home and on your MLS's rules. A Coming Soon period can give you time to finish the house while buyers start watching for it. A delayed marketing listing can keep a home off the public websites for a while, at the cost of the immediate exposure those websites bring.
My view: the first two weeks on the market set the price, because that's when most active buyers see the home for the first time. Whatever comes first, I want the full launch ready the day the home is available. My article on why the first two weeks set your price goes deeper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Coming Soon listing on the MLS?
Under NAR's Clear Cooperation Policy, once a property is marketed to the public, the listing broker has one business day to submit it to the MLS. How the MLS shows a Coming Soon home to other agents and to the public is up to that MLS.
Can buyers tour a Coming Soon home?
NAR's definition describes a Coming Soon property as not available for showing or sale until a later date. Whether any showings can happen during that time is a question for your MLS's rules and your listing agent.
What is a delayed marketing exempt listing?
It's an option NAR added in 2025. The seller directs the listing broker to delay public marketing through IDX and syndication for a period the local MLS allows. The listing is still filed with the MLS and available to other MLS participants.
Do I have to sign anything to delay marketing?
Yes. NAR's policy says the listing agent must get a signed disclosure from the seller documenting the seller's informed consent before delaying public marketing.
About the author
Dennis Mark Interdonato is a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® who leads The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living in Point Pleasant, NJ, helping buyers and sellers throughout New Jersey make their next move, with Monmouth and Ocean County as home base. Read more about Dennis Mark.
