When you call an expired listing, say this: "Hi, is this [Seller name]? [Your name], real estate agent here in [town] — I'm calling about [address]. I saw it came off the market. I'm guessing I'm not the first agent to call today, so I'll be quick: are you still planning on selling, or are you finished with the whole thing?" Name yourself, name the address, name the reason for the call, then ask one open question — all in under 15 seconds — and stop talking. That is the answer, and everything else in this guide exists to protect it: what to check before you dial, the eight-move call flow from hello to booked appointment, word-for-word rebuttals to the five objections that end most expired calls ("we're relisting with the same agent," "we're taking it off the market," "just email me," "we're not lowering the price," "you all say the same thing"), voicemail scripts under 20 seconds, and a day-by-day follow-up cadence. Print it. Hand it to new hires. It is meant to be used at the desk, not admired.
What do you say when you call an expired listing?
Say who you are, name the address, give the reason for the call, and ask one open question — in under 15 seconds:
**"Hi, is this [Seller name]? [Your name], real estate agent here in [town] — I'm calling about [address]. I saw it came off the market. I'm guessing I'm not the first agent to call today, so I'll be quick: are you still planning on selling, or are you finished with the whole thing?"**
Three things are doing the work. First, the address: it proves you are calling about *them*, not working down a list. Second, naming the elephant — "I'm not the first agent to call" — defuses the irritation they are already feeling. Expired sellers in active metro markets commonly report 15 to 40 agent calls in the first 48 hours; acknowledging that instantly separates you from the other 39.
Third, "or are you finished with the whole thing?" is a negative-option question. It gives the seller explicit permission to say no, which is precisely why they usually say something truer instead: "No, we still have to sell — we're just done with agents." That sentence is the whole call. Now you know the enemy is not you, it is their last experience.
What you must not do is pitch. Never open with "I have buyers for your home" unless you can name actual buyers who have toured comparable properties. Never lead with your marketing plan. Never ask "what are you looking for in your next agent?" in the first 20 seconds — they don't know you well enough to answer honestly.
The objective of the call is a 20-minute appointment at the property. Not a listing agreement over the phone. Not a price opinion. An appointment.
What do you need to check before you dial an expired listing?
Two things: the file and the law. Skipping either is what makes new agents sound stupid or get their brokerage a complaint.
**The file (five minutes per lead).** Pull the MLS history and note: original list price, every price reduction and its date, cumulative days on market versus days on market for that listing, photo count and quality, remarks quality, showing count if your MLS publishes it, whether it truly expired or was withdrawn/canceled, and who the listing agent was. Then check property records for ownership length, mortgage recording date and estimated equity, plus any permit history. Finally, run three sold comparables and two active competitors. You are not building a CMA — you are building two or three specific, factual observations you can say out loud: "You were listed 142 days at $749,000 with 11 photos and one price cut in October." Specificity is the whole differentiator.
**The compliance layer.** There is no blanket "expired listing" exemption from the National Do Not Call Registry, and an established business relationship does not exist with a homeowner you have never transacted with. Scrub every number against the federal registry and against state registries — Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana and Wisconsin are among the states that maintain their own lists or stricter statutes. Federal solicitation hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the *recipient's* local time; some states are narrower (Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act limits calls to 8 a.m.–8 p.m.). Autodialers, prerecorded messages and ringless voicemail carry materially higher TCPA exposure than manual dialing. Keep an internal do-not-call list, honor requests immediately and retain them for at least five years. Also read your MLS rules: some restrict soliciting off MLS-sourced expired data.
This is general information, not legal advice — have your broker or counsel review your dialing process.
What is the full expired listing call flow, step by step?
Eight moves. Roughly four to seven minutes when it goes well.
**1. Opener (15 seconds).** The script above. Then silence.
**2. Confirm intent.** "So the plan is still to move — just not with the same setup?" You are labeling their situation, not questioning it.
**3. Motivation.** "If it had sold at the price you wanted, where were you headed?" This is the single highest-value question on the call. Destination equals urgency. "Nowhere in particular" is a real answer — it usually means a slow lead, not a dead one.
**4. Timeline.** "Does that move have a date attached to it — a school year, a job start, a closing on the other end?"
**5. Diagnosis (their version).** "Why do you think it didn't sell?" Whatever they say, do not correct it. Write it down. Then: "What did your agent say the reason was?" The gap between those two answers is where you will win the appointment.
**6. The bridge.** "Here's my honest position. I've looked at your photos, your price history and the two homes that sold on your street since April, and I have a theory — but I'd be guessing about the inside of your house, and I don't want to guess at you over the phone."
**7. The ask (specific, alternative-choice).** "Give me 20 minutes at the house. I'll show you exactly what I'd change, what I'd price it at, and what I'd spend to market it — and if you decide to relist with your original agent, you can hand them the whole plan. Does Thursday at 5:30 work, or is Saturday morning easier?"
**8. Lock it.** Confirm the address and who will be present: "Will [spouse/partner] be there too? I want to say it once, to both of you." Send a calendar invite plus a text confirmation within five minutes.
How do you answer "we're relisting with the same agent" and "we're taking it off the market"?
These two kill more expired calls than everything else combined. Do not argue. Concede first, then ask one question.
**Objection 1 — "We're relisting with the same agent."**
**You:** "Good — loyalty is a good sign, and honestly they know the house better than I do. Can I ask one thing before you sign? What are they doing differently the second time?"
Then shut up. If they can name three specific changes — new price, new photography, new copy, new open-house strategy — they have a real plan and you should say so: "That's a real plan. I'd sign it too." You just became the only honest agent who called, which is why a meaningful share of these people call you back in 60 days.
If the answer is vague — "he said he'd try harder" or "we're going to lower the price" — go here:
**You:** "Here's my concern. Lower price plus the same photos, same description and same buyer pool is the same campaign at a discount. Before you commit another six months, let me spend 20 minutes showing you what a different campaign looks like. Worst case, you hand him my plan and make him execute it. Thursday at 5:30, or Saturday morning?"
**Objection 2 — "We're taking it off the market."**
**You:** "Completely fair — six months on the market is exhausting. Are you off the market forever, or off the market until spring?"
Almost nobody says forever. When they say "until spring," you say:
**You:** "Then let's use the winter. The homes that sell in the first two weeks of March are the ones that got photographed, painted and priced in January. I'll come by, tell you the three things worth doing before then and what they cost, and you owe me nothing. If you like the plan in February, we'll talk. Thursday or Saturday?"
You are selling a free head start, not a listing.
How do you answer the three objections that end the rest of the calls?
**Objection 3 — "Just email me your information."** This is a polite exit, and sending a PDF ends the relationship.
**You:** "I'll do that — what's the best address? … Sent. One thing: the file everyone emails you is a brochure about me, and you don't care about me, you care about why 142 days went by. I can't put that in an email because half of it depends on what your kitchen actually looks like. Give me 20 minutes at the house and you'll have a real answer instead of a PDF. Thursday at 5:30?"
**Objection 4 — "We're not lowering the price."** Never fight price on the first call. You will lose and you'll be right.
**You:** "I'm not going to ask you to. Price is one of three levers — the other two are how the home shows and how many buyers actually see it. If we fix the second and third, sometimes you don't have to touch the first. That's exactly the conversation I want to have in person, because I'd rather show you the two homes that beat you on your own street than describe them."
**Objection 5 — "You're the 20th agent to call. You all say the same thing."**
**You:** "You're right, and that's a fair complaint. So let me be different in a way you can check: you were on at $749,000 for 142 days with 11 photos, one reduction in October, and two homes on your street closed at $712,000 and $726,000 in that window. I have a theory about which of those numbers actually mattered. Twenty minutes, at your kitchen table, and I'll be gone by 6."
Specific facts are the only credential that survives the twentieth call. If you did the five-minute file review in section two, you have them.
What voicemail should you leave on an expired listing?
You will reach voicemail on most attempts — typical live-contact rates on cold-dialed expireds run in the single digits to low teens per dial, so voicemail *is* the campaign, not the consolation prize. Leave a live voicemail yourself; prerecorded and ringless drops carry more regulatory risk and sound like a robot to a seller who has been called forty times.
Rules: under 20 seconds, say your number twice, slowly, and give exactly one reason to call back. Never say "I have a buyer" unless you do.
**Voicemail 1 — Day 0, the honest one:** "Hi [Name], [Your name], real estate agent in [town], calling about [address]. I know your listing just came off and I know your phone is ringing. I'm not going to pitch you on a voicemail. I looked at your price history and the two closings on your street and I have one specific thought about what happened. 555-0134. That's 555-0134. Whenever you're ready."
**Voicemail 2 — Day 3, the question:** "[Name], [Your name] again about [address]. One question and I'll leave you alone: are you relisting or taking a break? Because the advice is completely different. 555-0134 — 555-0134."
**Voicemail 3 — Day 10, the takeaway:** "[Name], [Your name], [address]. I've left you a couple of messages and I don't want to be the guy who won't stop calling. I'll assume you're set. If anything changes — this month or next spring — 555-0134. Good luck with the move."
The takeaway voicemail books more appointments than the first two combined, because it is the only message that gives them their power back. Callbacks from it often arrive weeks later.
What does a follow-up cadence for expired listings look like?
One call is prospecting theater. The listings you win are usually the ones the other nineteen agents quit on. Here is a 30-day cadence that works, adjusted for the reality that most agents give up after two attempts.
- **Day 0:** call within hours of expiration; voicemail 1 if no answer; drop a handwritten note in the mail that day. - **Day 1:** call at a different time of day. Morning caller? Try 6:15 p.m. Never dial the same slot twice. - **Day 3:** call plus voicemail 2. If you already had a live conversation and they invited contact, send one text: *"[Name] — [Your name], following up on [address]. Still deciding, or already sorted? Either answer is fine."* - **Day 5:** mail a one-page "what I'd change" sheet — three bullets, one comp, your photo. - **Day 7:** door knock if your market and safety practice allow. Bring the one-pager. Do not ambush; two minutes at the threshold. - **Day 10:** call plus voicemail 3 (the takeaway). - **Day 14:** if they relisted with someone else, send a short congratulations note. Genuinely. Sixty percent of relisted expireds expire again. - **Day 30 onward:** monthly value touch — the closed comps on their street, nothing else — until they sell or ask you to stop.
On texting: SMS to a number you obtained from a listing carries its own consent exposure under TCPA and state mini-TCPA statutes. Most disciplined teams text only after a live conversation in which the seller agreed to be contacted, and log that consent. Honor any opt-out instantly and permanently, across every channel. Again: general guidance, not legal advice.
Do expired, withdrawn and canceled listings need different scripts?
Yes, and confusing them is an instant credibility loss.
**Expired** means the listing agreement reached its end date without a sale. The seller is legally free, the agent relationship is over, and your opener above applies directly.
**Withdrawn** means the property was pulled from active status but the listing agreement is very likely still in force. Calling a withdrawn seller with a listing pitch can constitute interference with an existing agency agreement and can violate MLS rules and Article 16 of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics if you are a member. The safe script: **"I noticed [address] came off active status. I'm not calling to poach — I know you may still be under contract with your agent. I only wanted to ask whether you're still planning to sell at some point, so I know whether to check back after your agreement ends. When does it run through?"** Then respect the answer and diary the date.
**Canceled** is ambiguous: the agreement may have been mutually released, or the seller may still owe protection-period obligations on buyers the agent introduced. Ask directly: "Was the agreement released, or is it still running?"
Two more variants worth scripting. **Luxury expireds** rarely fail on marketing effort — they fail on positioning and buyer sourcing, so lead with "Where do you think the buyer for this house actually lives?" rather than price. **Investor or tenant-occupied expireds** fail on access and condition; lead with "How many showings did you actually allow, and how much notice did the tenant require?" — an under-shown listing is a solvable problem and the seller usually knows it.
Matching the script to the status is the fastest way to sound like the one agent who did their homework.
How do you practice these scripts and know if they're working?
Scripts fail for two reasons: agents read them, and agents don't measure them.
**Practice.** Twenty minutes a day, out loud, with a partner playing the seller — and the partner should be hostile, because real expired sellers are. Run the five objections in random order until your responses arrive without a pause. Record yourself (note that roughly a dozen states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington and Massachusetts, require all-party consent to record a call — get it, or record only your own role-plays). Listen for three things: how fast you talk in the first ten seconds, whether you fill silence after asking a question, and whether you pitched before they asked.
**Measure.** Track four numbers weekly, not one: dials, live contacts, appointments set, appointments held. Contact rate tells you about your data and dial times. Contact-to-appointment tells you about your script. Set-to-held tells you about your confirmation process — if you lose more than a quarter of set appointments, the problem is your confirmation text, not your opener. Working trained agents commonly need somewhere in the range of 10 to 20 live seller conversations per appointment set on cold expireds, and it improves sharply once the objection responses are automatic. Judge a script change over 200 dials, never over ten.
**Systematize.** Every unanswered lead should be in a cadence, not a memory. Speed matters enormously: the agent who calls within the first hour of expiration has a structurally different conversation than the one calling on day four. This is exactly the kind of repeatable, measurable pipeline we build for teams inside the Estate Funnel method at Growth Estate — but the scripts above work perfectly well with a spreadsheet, a phone and someone willing to make the twentieth call.
Frequently asked questions
It can be, but expired listings have no automatic exemption from the National Do Not Call Registry, and you have no established business relationship with a homeowner you've never transacted with. Scrub every number against the federal registry and any applicable state registry, call only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time (some states, such as Florida, are stricter), avoid autodialers, prerecorded messages and ringless voicemail unless your counsel has cleared them, maintain an internal do-not-call list for at least five years, and check your MLS rules on soliciting off MLS data. This is general information, not legal advice — have your broker or an attorney review your process.