In Contract

an offer has been made and accepted, and the closng is pending. The listing is no longer availbale, unless the deal falls through.

It means an offer has been made and accepted.

another helpful addition from a pretentious idiot.

An offer is made and accepted in principle before it goes into contract. The buyer pays the deposit and signs the offer for sale (sic) which is countersigned by the seller then it is in contract. This occurs before closing the sale. Things can still go wrong and the contract will fail after it is 'in contract' but normally being 'in contract' is enough to deter further showings as in the majority of cases the sale will conclude successfully. (Note - lately is has generated much attention that people 'in contract' here in NY with new developments and are not proceeding due to the drop in value of the apartment since going to contract and they try, most unsuccessfully, to get deposit back)

It means that the buyer and seller have agreed to terms, and have written those down in a contract which both parties have signed ("fully executed") and that the buyer has also put down some money to show their seriousness.

If an apartment is in contract, it will probably be sold unless:

1) the buyer is buying a co-op, and is not approved by the building's board;
2) the buyer cannot get mortgage financing;
3) the buyer changes his/her mind, in which case the deposit money that they put down will be kept by the selller;
4) there is some kind of inspection clause in the contract (more common with houses than with apartments) and the property does not pass inspection.

Does that help?

ali r.
{downtown broker}

"It means an offer has been made and accepted."

Well that means the apartment has an "accepted offer." The apartment is not "in contract" until both buyer and seller sign the actual contract.