You might notice something missing next time you do an online home search. A home listed through the Northwest Multiple Listing Service for which an offer has been made will no longer be viewable on public Web sites as it moves through the process, including a home inspection.

It used to be that such homes would continue to be publicly listed for a number of days and would be labeled “Active/STI” or something similar that indicated the home was spoken for and an inspection was underway. Brokers, agents and their customers, of course, will continue to see the status of a home that’s for sale, whether active, pending or sold.

The change, which went into effect this week, accomplishes a couple of things, said Dick Beeson, who is a Windermere broker and a director for the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. First, it clears up some statistics. Previously, homes that had an offer and were subject to inspection were counted in the active listings category, even though they were actually pending sales, Beeson said. (At least 75 percent of properties that receive an offer, become closed sales, he said.) And it provides a more clear explanation to home shoppers of the status of a sale.

So it seems for buyers, the change will declutter a home search of houses and condos that likely will be fully off the market in a matter of days. For sellers, it could mean fewer days of marketing should the sale fall through after inspection.