If you’re a real estate agent or broker who uses a WordPress website to display listings, you’ve probably run into a frustrating issue that can affect your relationship with clients and your online credibility: a listing on your site still shows up as “Active” even though the home has already been sold, gone under contract, or is otherwise no longer available.
This may seem like a small problem at first glance, but in reality, it leads to big headaches—especially when excited buyers call you expecting a tour or when sellers spot their property still appearing as “For Sale” online long after the paperwork is signed.
This issue is particularly tricky because it’s caused by several small pieces of technology working together — some you control, some you don’t — all of which affect how accurate your Website appears to users. But the good news is this: once you understand why the delay happens, you’ll see there are clear, innovative ways to fix it and improve your site’s reliability and reputation — starting today.
Why This Problem Matters More Than You Might Think
When someone browsing your site sees a home labeled “Active,” they assume the property is genuinely available for purchase. They might call you immediately to schedule a showing, forward the link to family or friends, or even begin imagining themselves living there.
Now imagine how frustrating it is for that person to find out the home sold yesterday or even a few days ago. That excitement quickly turns to disappointment, and it plants a seed of doubt—not just about the listing but also about your site and, sometimes, about your service as an agent.
Even if this happens once or twice, people can stop trusting your listings. They may start checking big national sites like Zillow or Realtor instead, thinking they’re more up-to-date, even if that’s not true. For agents, that’s a lost opportunity and a crack in your brand’s reputation.
How WordPress Real Estate Sites Get Their Listings
Your WordPress website doesn’t generate listing data all by itself. Instead, it relies on a plugin called an IDX plugin, which stands for Internet Data Exchange. This plugin connects your Website to your local MLS — the Multiple Listing Service, where agents enter their active listings, prices, photos, and status updates.
The IDX plugin acts like a bridge, reaching out to the MLS using a system like RETS (a bit older) or Web API (a newer, faster standard) and asking for the latest updates. It then saves that data into your Website’s database, where it becomes visible to people browsing your listings.
But the catch causes the lag: your IDX plugin can only get new data when the MLS makes it available. Your plugin isn’t pulling live, second-by-second information—it’s following the rules and timing that the MLS sets, which can vary widely from place to place.
MLS Update Frequency Comparison
| MLS Type | How Often It Updates | Notes for Agents |
|---|---|---|
| Large MLS Boards | Every 5–15 minutes | Fastest, often for premium connections or direct access only |
| Mid-sized Boards | Every 30–60 minutes | Common for most city-based and suburban MLS systems |
| Small Boards | 3–4 times per day | Slowest; updates may take hours to reach your site |
| Your Website | Same as the MLS | WordPress can’t update faster than the MLS feed allows |
Even if your Website looks sleek and loads fast, the data inside it can still be old because the MLS controls the schedule.
Agents Can Delay the Data Without Even Realizing It
Most MLS systems give agents 24 to 48 hours to change a listing’s status after accepting an offer. That policy is built to give agents time to handle paperwork, coordinate with the buyer and seller, or finish showings already on the calendar.
But during that window, the home still shows as “Active”—not just on the MLS but also on your Website, other agents’ sites, and any portal that uses the same feed. Buyers see it, message you, and book tours—all for a listing that’s already off the market.
Even if you follow the rules perfectly, your site may display the wrong information simply because the update wasn’t made in time.
This is especially common when agents wait until the end of the day to make changes or intentionally delay the update to see if any backup offers come in.
WordPress Doesn’t Check for Updates Unless You Tell It To
WordPress has a system for scheduling tasks called wp-cron, but it’s not like a real clock. It only runs when someone loads a page on your site — like when a visitor opens your homepage or checks a listing.
WordPress won’t check for updates if no one visits your site for hours. That means new homes don’t appear, sold homes don’t get removed, and price changes don’t show up — simply because no one triggered the check.
This isn’t just a problem for small or new websites. Even busy agent sites can miss checks if caching or server issues interrupt the process.
Real Cron Jobs Are the Fix
A real cron job is a scheduled task that runs at set times — every 5 minutes, for example — no matter how busy or quiet your site is. You can set one up through your hosting provider. Once active, your site will check for new listings, price changes, and status updates on a schedule that works around the clock — not just when people browse.
Comparison Table: Cron Job Types
| Type of Cron Job | How It Works | Reliability | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
wp-cron (default) | Runs only when a visitor loads a page | ❌ Inconsistent | Basic sites, test environments |
| Server Cron Job | Runs every X minutes, no matter what | ✅ Reliable | All production real estate sites |
Need help? WordPress.org has a setup guide that walks through the steps.
Caching: Great for Speed, Bad for Accuracy
Caching tools make websites load faster by saving versions of your pages and reusing them. Tools like WP Rocket or Cloudflare can turn a 3-second page load into less than one second. That’s great for users and SEO.
But if that saved version says a home is “Active,” it will keep showing that version until the cache expires or is manually cleared — even if the house was sold an hour ago.
Object caching also saves the actual listing data in memory (using tools like Redis or Memcached). This speeds up page builds but can also hold onto old property info until the memory is refreshed.
Smart Caching Rules to Follow
| Page or Data Type | Caching Strategy |
|---|---|
| Search and Listing Pages | Do NOT use full-page caching |
| Property Status Queries | Set short expiration time (1–5 min) |
| Database Rows (Object Cache) | Clear after every successful update |
Caching is powerful — but it must be configured carefully to avoid displaying outdated listings.
Theme Limitations Cause Misleading Status Labels
MLS databases include dozens of status codes, each with specific meanings. For example, a home might be “Active—Contingent,” “Pending—Backup Offers,” or “Active—Kick-Out.”
Most WordPress themes aren’t built to understand those extra labels. Instead, they only show three simple options: Active, Pending, or Sold.
So if your plugin pulls in “Active – Contingent,” and your theme doesn’t have a place for that, it just shows “Active.” That leads buyers to think the home is fully available — when it’s not.
How to Solve Status Mapping Problems
- Update your theme to include more MLS status types
- Show the exact MLS status in parentheses (e.g., Active (Contingent))
- Add a glossary or “status key” that explains what each label means
- Let users filter out listings with special conditions if they only want fully open homes
Buyers Feel Burned When Info Is Wrong
If a buyer finds several homes on your site marked “Active,” but they’re all actually sold, or under contract, they’ll start wondering whether your site is reliable.
They might blame the plugin, or they might blame you. Either way, they’re not booking a showing—they’re clicking away to another site they think is more accurate.
The fastest way to regain that trust is to make your site more current and detailed than the big-name portals. Tools like MLSImport are designed to help with this, offering direct MLS connections that update listings every hour.
Sellers Lose Confidence Too
When sellers accept an offer, they often assume their home will stop showing up online right away. But when it still appears as “For Sale,” they get nervous.
They might think the buyer canceled, that the paperwork got lost, or that you forgot to update the listing.
Reassure Sellers Early
- Let them know the MLS was updated right away — that’s what matters
- Explain that public websites may take 12–24 hours to reflect that change
- Share a private MLS link so they can see the update in real-time
- Let them know a few more calls might come in — and that’s okay
Proactive communication prevents confusion and builds trust.
Old Listings Can Cost You Money
Every time someone clicks on a paid ad — from Google, Facebook, or Instagram — it costs you money. If they click through to a listing that’s already sold, you’ve paid for nothing.
Worse, if too many users “bounce” off your site quickly, Google lowers your SEO ranking. Over time, that means fewer visitors, fewer leads, and less business.
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