So your listing expired. That stings, doesn't it? You spent months keeping your house pristine for showings, rearranging your schedule for last-minute appointments, and watching your hopes deflate a little more with each passing week. Now you're sitting here wondering what went wrong and whether you should even bother trying again.

Here's the thing – an expired listing isn't a death sentence for your sale. It's actually pretty common. But what you do next makes all the difference between finally closing on your home and watching it expire all over again.

Why Listings Expire in the First Place

Before we talk about getting it sold the second time around, let's be honest about why it didn't sell the first time. Usually, it comes down to three things: price, marketing, or your agent. Sometimes it's a combination of all three.

The market might have shifted since you first listed. Maybe interest rates jumped or inventory flooded your neighborhood. Or maybe your home needed repairs that scared off buyers who were already stretching their budget. But most often? The agent you hired simply didn't do their job well enough.

"The wrong agent can absolutely doom your listing from day one," says Mike Oddo, CEO of HouseJet. "We see it constantly – homes that sat on the market for months with minimal showings, then sell within weeks once they're listed with an agent who actually understands pricing strategy and modern marketing. Your choice of agent isn't just important, it's everything."

Three Reasons to Fire Your Agent and Start Fresh

If you're thinking about relisting with the same agent who couldn't sell your home the first time, pump the brakes. Here's why that's usually a mistake:

They Already Showed You What They Can't Do

Your agent had months to prove themselves, and your expired listing is the report card. Maybe they priced your home too high and refused to adjust when the market told them otherwise. Maybe their marketing consisted of a few blurry photos and a basic MLS listing. Maybe they never returned buyers' agents' calls or bothered to give you honest feedback after showings. Whatever the reason, they had their shot. Why would round two be any different?

Buyers Remember Stale Listings

When a home sits on the market forever, buyers and their agents notice. They start thinking something's wrong with the property or that you're a difficult seller. Even if you relist with the same agent at a better price, that stigma follows you. Starting fresh with a new agent sends a signal that things have changed. It resets the narrative and gives buyers a reason to take a second look instead of assuming it's the same overpriced property they passed on before.

Your Agent Probably Won't Tell You the Truth

The agent who let your listing expire has every incentive to convince you to try again with them. They'll blame the market, the season, bad timing, picky buyers – anything except their own performance. A new agent has nothing to lose by being brutally honest with you about what needs to change. They'll walk through your home with fresh eyes and tell you exactly what's turning buyers away, whether that's your price, your decor, or the fact that your roof looks like it's one strong wind away from ending up in your neighbor's yard.

When Should You Relist?

The timeline for relisting an expired property varies wildly depending on your situation and what needs to change. Some sellers jump back on the market within days. Others wait months to make repairs or let the market shift in their favor.

If your home expired because of price and nothing else, you can relist almost immediately once you've adjusted to a realistic number. We're talking a week or two, max. Just long enough to line up a better agent and get your ducks in a row.

If you need to make physical improvements – fixing that cracked foundation, updating the kitchen that still has linoleum from 1987, or replacing the HVAC system that sounds like a jet engine – you're looking at one to three months minimum. Don't rush back to market with half-finished projects. Buyers can smell desperation, and they'll use those incomplete repairs as negotiating ammunition.

Some sellers choose to wait out a season entirely. If your listing expired in November when buyer activity naturally slows down, it might make sense to make improvements over winter and come back strong in spring when families are actively house hunting. That could mean waiting three to six months, but you're entering the market when conditions are in your favor.

Getting It Right This Time

Here's what needs to happen for round two to work. First, hire an agent who'll be straight with you from day one. Someone who'll tell you your asking price is delusional if it is. Someone whose marketing goes beyond a couple of iPhone photos and a prayer.

Second, price it right from the start. Your home is worth what buyers will pay for it, not what you need to clear your mortgage or what your neighbor's house sold for three years ago. An expired listing already has one strike against it – you can't afford to overprice it again.

Third, make your home show-ready. Fix the obvious problems, deep clean everything, and consider staging if your furniture is doing your home zero favors.

An expired listing feels like failure, but it's really just a learning experience that cost you a few months of time. Learn from it, make the necessary changes, and get back out there with someone who knows how to actually sell homes.