Bouncing Back From An Expired Listing

Listing your home for sale can be a grueling process. Between disengaging yourself from your old home and orchestrating a move into a new one, there are a million details and emotions to manage. And, if your property doesn't sell during its first outing, things can get exponentially more complicated!

When you agree to work with a real estate agent to sell your home, your listing contract will stipulate the length of the listing period. The average is 180 days, but it may be longer or shorter based on whether you're in a buyer- or seller-driven market. If the agreed-upon term passes without an acceptable offer, you'll need to decide whether to keep your home on the market with the same broker, find a new broker or take your home off the market.

How can you bounce back from an expired listing and set yourself up for success the next time around? Here are my time-tested suggestions:

Take a Deep Breath

For your success and your sanity, it's imperative to maintain a positive outlook if your home fails to sell. You're not the first homeowner to go through an expired listing, and I can promise you that, with the right game plan, it is still possible to achieve a great outcome.

Analyze What Went Wrong

There are myriad factors that go into a successful sale, and if you're in a buyer's market, your home will need to be positioned flawlessly to sell. Work with your realtor to review the feedback you received from buyers and their agents. Examine traffic to the listing online and take a look at open house attendance. Chances are, if the home received a lot of interest but no offers, the issue is the price, especially as it relates to the condition of the property. If there was little response to online listing pages or open houses, the problem might be lackluster marketing or staging. I'll be addressing pricing and marketing in detail in future posts, but by analyzing your expired listing's performance, you should have a wealth of information on how to move forward.

Choose Your Real Estate Agent Wisely

An expired listing is a crossroads for you and your realtor. You can move forward with your current agent, or you can re-list your home with a new representative. If you feel like your agent is hardworking and has a firm grasp of the market, and they executed everything that was promised during the listing period, it can be smart to stay with them. On the other hand, if your current agent dropped the ball or seems stymied by what to do next, feel free to move on.

Consider Smart Home Improvements

Positioning your home beautifully is imperative to finding sales success, especially in a competitive or crowded marketplace. Many sellers, however, struggle with finding the upfront capital necessary to fund updates that will drive sale price and appeal. With Compass Concierge, available exclusively for Compass clients, you can make sure your home is beautifully renovated and staged while we front the cost of services to increase the value of your home! This groundbreaking program covers the cost of nearly every type of project — from bathroom upgrades and fresh paint to plumbing repairs and gorgeous furnishings — which are later deducted from the sale proceeds, with no hidden fees or interest, ever!

I founded my real estate career on leading expired listings to winning results. If you'd like to schedule a no-obligation discussion, I'd be happy to share my success stories and provide suggestions for how we can get you and your expired listing across the finish line!