When should I call an expired listing?

Either within hours of expiry, accepting you are one of many, or after day three when almost every other agent has stopped. The middle is the worst place: late enough to be one of a crowd, early enough that the seller is still irritated.

What do I say first on an expired listing call?

Acknowledge that other agents have already rung, then ask what the seller thinks stopped it selling. Every competitor is explaining why they are different. Asking the question nobody has asked separates you far more reliably.

How many times should I follow up on an expired listing?

Most agents call once. Calling again five to ten days later, referencing something specific from the first conversation, puts you ahead of nearly everyone. Keep going into week four, when the field has emptied.

Why do expired listings convert better than other cold lists?

Because the seller has already decided to move and already failed once. Intent is established, which is the hardest part of any cold call. What you are competing on is approach, not persuasion.

Expired Listing Scripts to Win More Seller Leads

Q: Should I criticise the previous agent?

No. Sellers defend decisions they made, even bad ones, so attacking the previous agent makes them defensive rather than curious. Talk about what you would do differently instead.

Q: Are expired listings still cold calls under do-not-call rules?

Yes. Being on an expired list is not consent to be called. Check the national registry and your local equivalent, observe calling hours in the seller time zone, and keep an internal suppression list you honour permanently.

An expired listing is a seller who wanted to move, spent months trying, and failed. By the time you call, they have usually heard from several agents already, all of whom opened by explaining why they are different.

The winning approach is almost always the opposite of that.

Why timing decides most of it

Expired listings are the most heavily worked list in real estate. Every agent with a dialler pulls the same names on the same morning.

Roughly how many agents a typical expired listing hears from, by day since expiry. The first hours are crowded, then the field clears almost completely.

That shape suggests two viable strategies, and they need different scripts.

Be first, which means calling within hours of expiry and accepting that you are one of many. Or be last, which means calling the listings everybody else abandoned after day three, when the seller has stopped being harassed and started thinking.

The middle is the worst place to be: late enough to be one of a crowd, early enough that they are still irritated.

Day one scripts

If you are calling in the first 24 hours, assume you are agent number six. Do not pretend otherwise.

The acknowledged-crowd opener Within 24 hours of expiry.

You: Hi, is this Mr Reeves? My name's Dan, local agent. I'm calling about your place on Fairfield Road coming off the market. I'm guessing I'm not the first call you've had today.
Them: You're about the seventh.
You: Then I'll be the shortest. One question and I'll go. What do you think actually stopped it selling?

Every other agent is talking. You are asking the question the seller has been turning over for weeks that nobody has bothered to ask. Then you stop talking and let them answer, however long that takes.

The price-conversation opener When the listing was visibly overpriced for its market.

You: Hi, calling about Fairfield Road. Before I say anything else, can I check something? Were you happy with the price it was listed at, or did that feel high to you at the time?
Them: The agent said we could get it.
You: That happens a lot, and it is usually not dishonesty, it is optimism at the listing appointment. Would it be useful to see what the street actually transacted at over those months?

Note what that avoids: telling them their old agent was wrong. Sellers defend decisions they made, even bad ones, and attacking the previous agent makes them defensive rather than curious.

The second-attempt script

Most agents call once and give up. Calling again a week later, having already had a short conversation, puts you ahead of almost everyone.

The follow-up that references the first call Five to ten days after a brief first conversation.

You: Hi Mr Reeves, it's Dan again, we spoke last week about Fairfield Road. You said the showings were the worst part. I've been thinking about that. Have you decided what you're doing yet?
Them: Not really. We might leave it until spring.
You: That's a reasonable call. Can I ask what would need to be true for you to try again sooner?

The detail from the first call is the entire value of this script. You remembered. Almost nobody does.

The long-dead listing script

Listings that expired months ago are the least worked and often the most receptive. The seller has had time to stop being annoyed.

The cold restart Six weeks or more after expiry.

You: Hi, it's Dan, local agent. Your house on Fairfield Road was on the market back in spring and came off. I'm ringing on the assumption that either you sold it privately, or you shelved the idea. Which was it?
Them: We shelved it. Got fed up.
You: That's the answer I get most. Usually the fed-up part is the process rather than the price. Is that fair in your case?

The market-change opener When something in the local market genuinely changed.

You: Hi Mr Reeves, Dan here, local agent. I'm calling because something changed on your street since your place came off the market and I thought you'd want to know. Number 40 sold last week at eleven above where the street was sitting in spring.
Them: Really? What did it go for?
You: Four-ninety-two. Does that change your thinking at all, or are you settled now?

Only use that one when it is true. A seller who checks and finds you exaggerated has closed the door permanently.

The objections you will hear

“We’re relisting with the same agent.” “Fair enough, they know the house. Is the plan different this time, or the same approach again?”

“We’re waiting until spring.” “Sensible in a lot of cases. Can I ask, is that a market decision or a did-not-enjoy-it decision?”

“Every agent says the same thing.” “We mostly do, because the marketing genuinely is similar. Where I’d differ is the first ten days on price, and I’m not going to claim I know what went wrong before I’ve looked at the listing.”

“Just send me your details.” “Happy to. What should I include so it’s actually useful rather than another agent brochure?”

“We had an offer and it fell through.” “That’s the most frustrating version of this. Do you know what caused it to fall over? Sometimes it’s fixable before the next one.”

The part that beats the script

Expired listings reward two behaviours, and neither is wording.

Speed on day one. The list is public and everybody has it. Being ninth instead of second costs you real conversations.

Persistence after day three. The field empties almost entirely. The agents who win expireds consistently are usually the ones still calling in week four, when nobody else is.

Both are activity problems rather than script problems, and both are exactly what gets dropped on a busy week. That is the honest case for having an AI agent make the first call on every expiry the morning it lands, and transfer you the sellers who engage. The kitchen-table conversation is still yours. The two hundred dials before it do not have to be.

Before you dial

Expired listings are still cold calls. Check the national do-not-call registry and your local equivalent, observe calling hours in the seller’s time zone, and keep an internal suppression list that you honour permanently. Being on an expired list is not consent to be called.

The short version

Be first or be last, never in the middle. Acknowledge the crowd rather than pretending you are different. Ask what stopped it selling and then stop talking. Never criticise the previous agent. And keep calling in week four, because that is when everybody else has stopped.