It can blow your confidence if your property listing agreement expires without selling your home. The initial excitement from signing a listing agreement with a real estate agent may quickly fade and be replaced with anxiety and disappointment. Selling a home can be the biggest financial transaction in your lifetime, and it’s natural to have strong emotions throughout the process. Although you hope everything will go according to plan with a quick sale at a high price, as the weeks go by and there are no suitable offers, frustration will often set in.
The terms of real estate listings can vary: a listing agreement can last from three months to a year. But no matter how long the term is, it can still be disheartening when listing agreements expire without a sale. At this point, the initial professional agreement between your exclusive agency listing and your real estate agent has ended, so it’s time to start examining what happened. Was the property not selling your fault or your agent’s? Is it time to think about selling your house privately or looking for other agents to sell your home?
Common reasons listing agreements expire
There are different reasons a listing agreement expires. Sometimes, there are real estate agents that are not suited for you that could trigger listing agreement issues, whilst other reasons, such as the price of the property and the property market, can keep the home from getting sold. Nevertheless, one thing to remember here is that your real estate agent’s services play a significant role.
The price
Claiming the top spot on our list of why listing agreements can expire is the property’s price. This is not an uncommon occurrence because, during a hot market, homeowners often take the opportunity to increase the selling price as they encounter many motivated buyers looking to close the deal on their dream home quickly.
This doesn’t always go as planned because, more often than not, the home is not only being sold to the buyer but to the bank as well.
Also, with the number of resources out there, we live in a time when buyers are more educated. They take the time to find the house of their dreams and look at every open listing before signing over the dotted line. And with the abundance of resources online, almost everything is accessible.
It’s safe to assume that homebuyers today can easily know if your home is overpriced, regardless of the hot real estate market. This is why if you want your home to get sold as fast as possible, look at comparable sales and ensure your asking price is right, so your property sells. Speak with several real estate agents to help you set the right price for your home.
Lack of exposure
Another common reason open listings fail is that they need to be given more exposure. How the listing is exposed to the market lies in the hands of your agent.
Therefore, you need to pay attention to your listing agents’ marketing efforts and ensure that your property receives adequate exposure in a competitive market. In the buyer’s market, effective marketing will do wonders.
One of the reasons some agents fail to implement an effective marketing strategy is a need for more effective tools, an understanding of the market and how best to promote your property, which makes the listing agreement fall through.
Lack of communication
When listing your home in the market, it is advised you take the time to find the right agent with an exclusive agency listing to work on selling your home and work with an exclusive agency. Not all agents are alike, as well as sellers. Hence, it’s all about finding the right real estate agent you feel comfortable with and confident in before you sign exclusive agency listings or decide to sell your house privately.
We know it takes time, and for some, it can be overwhelming with many open listing agents. However, a common reason home listings expire is the need for more communication between an agent and seller.
And even if you found THE seller for you and an exclusive agency, ensure you keep an open line of communication. From the very start, communication should be clear and constant.
Motivations for selling a home
As you examine your selling situation, it’s a good idea to look at your reasons for selling. The most successful property sales will have strong motivation behind them, so if you have no real reason to sell your home, this may be part of the cause of the expired listing agreement. The following are examples of good reasons to sell:
- You have a growing family, and your current house is too small.
- You have increased financial means and the ability to move into a higher-quality property.
- You are unhappy in your current home and want to try a different living situation.
- Your relationship status has changed.
- Your children have left the nest, and you want to downsize your living space.
- Your neighbourhood has taken a turn for the worse.
- You have landed a new job or been transferred to a different location.
- Health issues make your current property unsuitable.
- You want to move closer to your extended family (or further away).
- Your home requires maintenance that you’d rather not deal with.
- You have renovated your property and want to move on to a new challenge.
- You are in need of cash and wish to use your equity.
- You or your family is in the midst of a major lifestyle change, and your current property doesn’t match your new goals.
If you can’t find your reason to sell on this list, it’s time to take a closer look at your motivations. You need genuine motivation to sell or enter a listing agreement to be willing to put effort into a property sale it needs. It may be time to take your home off the market and wait until later.
If you have a strong motivation for selling, consider the following strategies to give your property the best chance:
Examining marketing techniques
Marketing and advertising are extremely important when it comes to selling any property. Take a closer look at the open listing strategies you (and your real estate agent) used and ask yourself the following questions: Were there certain marketing methods that brought in results and others which didn’t? Did you employ enough different mediums to draw in a wide audience? Did you try techniques such as virtual tours and direct mail?
Examine the property’s current condition
As a seller, you’re probably already aware that potential buyers will be comparing properties for sale in your area. If your house is in worse condition than its competition, this could be the reason your open listing agreement failed or expired. You can reach your goal by undertaking some simple repairs before putting your home back on the market.
Another factor to consider is home staging, which can help make or break a sale. Try this technique the second time if you didn’t stage last time. It’s important to ensure that your house is in its best possible condition to impress potential buyers during inspections.
What deterred the original potential buyers?
If you didn’t receive any suitable offers during your first round of trying to sell the property, you would want to find out why. Was it the asking price, market competition or your agents’ marketing strategies? You need to review and analyse what buyers thought and said about the property. Most agents will solicit and compile buyer feedback as part of the selling process. Take a look at this feedback and establish whether their objections or criticisms are valid. This could help you a great deal going forward.
Real estate agent interest
Once your initial real estate listing agreement has expired, you may see a surge of interest from real estate agents with positive attitudes encouraging you to put your home back on the market and sway you into an executive agency listing with them.
But this is only sometimes an indication of overall buyer interest. It’s illegal for a real estate agent to steal an active listing agreement from another agent. Still, once open listings have expired, other real estate agents will do their best to get your business and sign a new listing agreement with you.
Some agents base their careers around acquiring recently expired listing agreements, and selling your property may be a low priority. If nothing else, acquiring your property listing helps give their exclusive agency another location to put up signs, even if no buyers are interested in your home. If you want to take some time to compare your options before choosing a new real estate agent, you can ask your current agent to remove the listing from internet data lists.
Interview new potential real estate agents
With an expired listing, you don’t have to go with the same agent. You now have the chance to find the right real estate agent to represent your property and get your home sold. You won’t want to waste this opportunity, particularly if you have already experienced disappointment with previous open listings.
Don’t be afraid to ask specific questions to determine what the agent will do to sell your property and compare real estate commission rates, so you get the best deal. Find out how their marketing and sales strategies differ from your previous agent’s. If you find a new agent from a different exclusive agency who not only matches all of the necessary criteria but is also willing to go the extra mile to sell the property, you will want to list with them and sign a new listing agreement.
Speak to your current agent about why the open listing agreement has expired
The case may be that your current real estate agent has worked hard to sell your home and has completed all of their marketing plans to their fullest. In this case, you may need to sit down and discuss whether the lack of a sale is due to current market conditions. You may have overpriced your home according to these conditions.
Your estate agent could perform a new comparative market analysis to uncover a possible reduced sales price. This could be the change you need to sell your home quickly.
If you’re happy with your current real estate agent and have formed a valuable business relationship with the exclusive agency, you may wish to re-list your property. Be sure to ask for their opinions regarding what changes will be needed to sell the property and what the new price should be. If they tell you that you must have refurbishments completed or faults repaired, you’ll need to consider this carefully.
Your real estate agent also has invested a great deal of time, money, and effort into the advertising and marketing of your home. If you have chosen to work with an honest, hardworking professional, they will want to keep you on board as a client and renew your commitment to selling your property.
The important role of staging to sell a home faster
In real estate, first impressions count if you want to sell a property quickly. One of the fastest ways to sell a home quickly is by staging it before you put it on the market. When you stage a property, you put it in its best light, which can help show what it can offer to homebuyers without needing a full makeover.
When you stage the property, you highlight why potential homebuyers should buy it; thus, you are creating an emotional connection that can be the driving force of a purchase decision.
Staging the property helps you leave a memorable impression that will engage your market—and it’s been proven effective. When your homebuyers are engaged, you can expect more commitment from them, while others may even be more motivated to match or increase the offer.
As mentioned, staging highlights the features of the home that will appeal to your target market. Doing so can increase the property’s perceived value. You will be surprised to know that a lot of homebuyers are willing to overlook the negatives of the property when it’s staged.
Additionally, home staging will ensure you are not left with an empty property. Adding the right furnishings and accessories can help prospective buyers to visualise their furniture and how they can make it work for their lifestyle.
Some local agents can help you stage your property to sell quickly. Check your exclusive agency listing and see if they provide staging services.
Home staging tasks you can do
On the other hand, you can DIY home staging with the tips below:
- Declutter: An effective first step in home staging is to eliminate clutter as this will open up the space. This will make the space a lot bigger and more appealing.
- De-personalise: Get rid of anything that identifies you as the homeowner when you’re selling. Buyers need to be able to picture themselves in the home. Create a blank canvas and ensure all personal items are no longer around when you open the home for potential buyers to see.
- Clean: It goes without saying that deep cleaning is key to home staging and should be done before listing your home on the market. A clean home can help make a positive first impression. In case you don’t have time to do this, you can always hire a professional deep cleaning service to do it for you.
- Repairs: Small repairs, such as caulking and some paint touch-ups, are some of the things you can do easily. Take the time to inspect your home for things that may need minor repairs. You can always have the major repairs handled by a professional instead. Remember, these little fixes are cheap and easy, so take care of them immediately.
- Go neutral: If you’re thinking of adding a fresh coat of paint to your property, then you can’t go wrong with neutral colours. White and grey are standard neutral shades you can go for. This may seem like such a small thing, but it greatly impacts your property.
How long after real estate contract expires can I have a private sale Australia?
Some sellers consider selling their property privately following an expired listing. If this is something you are considering, you need to know some things.
Most of the time, you can sell your house privately or with a new agent 90 days after the listing contract expires. This will prevent you from paying the agent’s commission.
Usually, real estate listing agreements have a safety clause that protects the agent from the seller. In the clause, suppose the buyer ends the listing contract or sells immediately before the listing expires; the property owner would owe the previous agent a commission fee for a tail period.
The right real estate agent’s services
Once a listing agreement expires, knowing the next steps to take is important. There are many property listings that expire, and one thing you can do is to know the reasons behind them.
Working with only one agent is also important, as this will make it easier for you to track the progress of your listing. It also won’t hurt to look at similar properties and do your research as to why the listing has expired.
In some cases, you can opt to sell your house privately when your executive agency listing expires.
We have listed some of the reasons, the things you can do, and the importance of staging your property following an expired listing agreement.