What is an expired listing? An expired listing is a home whose listing agreement reached its end date without a sale, so the multiple listing service (MLS) now shows it as Expired. The owner often still wants to move. Your job is to reach them inside the rules, then show a better plan for price, photos and marketing.
We make TINTY, an AI virtual staging app, so the relaunch section covers photos and staging. This guide for US agents expands one channel from our guide on how to get listings. Every script, letter and postcard is an example we wrote, and we haven’t tested response rates. The rules section is general information, not legal advice.
Key takeaways
- Check the status: “expired” usually means the agreement ended, but “withdrawn” can mean it still stands. Never solicit an owner who is still exclusively listed.
- Check your MLS rules: some MLSs, such as the California Regional MLS (CRMLS), ban using MLS data to solicit expired listings.
- Scrub every number: the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) treats an agent’s call offering services to an expired owner as a telephone solicitation, so Do Not Call rules apply.
- Lead with a plan: show the owner what you’d change, from a price based on fresh comps to new photos, staging and a launch week.
- Shoot new photos: the old listing photos often belong to the photographer or the previous broker, so reuse needs their permission. Get it in writing.
On this page: Expired vs withdrawn · Why listings expire · Where to find them · When to reach out · Rules · Scripts · Letter and postcards · Relaunch · Follow-up · FAQ
Expired listing meaning: expired vs withdrawn vs canceled
The listing status tells you whether the owner is free to hire you. Status names differ by MLS, so read your own MLS’s definitions before you act.
What each status usually means (our summary; check your MLS’s rules):
| Status | What it usually means | Can you solicit the owner? |
|---|---|---|
| Expired | The agreement reached its end date with no sale and no extension | Usually, once you confirm it wasn’t renewed or relisted |
| Canceled | The seller and broker ended the agreement early | Usually, once you confirm the agreement ended |
| Withdrawn | Off the market; the agreement may still be in force | Not until you confirm the agreement ended |
| Temporarily off market | The agreement stands, but marketing is paused | No |
Withdrawn is the trap. California’s CRMLS defines it as a status where “a valid listing contract is in effect,” per its Rules and Policies, effective July 10, 2026. Canopy MLS in the Carolinas uses Withdrawn for an agreement that is no longer in place, and Temporarily Off Market when it still is.
Why listings expire: five common causes
Most listings expire for a mix of reasons, and price is usually one of them (our view). Listen for these five on the first call:
- Price: set above what recent sales support, so buyers skipped it in search.
- Photos: dark, few or cluttered photos, or empty rooms that look small. In a 2025 National Association of Realtors (NAR) report, 83% of buyers who searched online rated photos very useful.
- Condition: repairs or dated finishes that visitors kept mentioning.
- Marketing and access: one launch push, then silence, or showing rules that kept buyers away.
- Agent fit: slow replies, no showing feedback and no new plan when activity stopped.
Sellers in the same NAR report most wanted help marketing the home (22%), pricing it competitively (20%) and selling within a set time (18%). An expired listing usually missed on at least one of those (our reading).
How to get expired listings: where to find owners
Your MLS shows expired listings, but some MLSs forbid using that data to solicit owners. Read your MLS’s rule on use of MLS information before you build a call list from it.
Rule: CRMLS Rule 12.11 limits MLS data to marketing listings to buyers, supporting valuations and building market statistics. Its June 2023 Broker Report added that “this prohibition includes solicitation of expired or canceled listings.”
Where agents find expired listing owners (our list):
- MLS filters: search Expired and Canceled by area and expiration date, where your MLS’s rules allow that use.
- Follow-up services: paid lead services compile expired listings with owner contact details. Ask where the data comes from and whether numbers are checked against do-not-call lists.
- Public records: your county’s property records name the owner and a mailing address, which is enough for a letter.
- Your farm: watch listings in your own area on public portals, and note signs that come down without a sale.
- Other agents: some refer expired owners outside their area or price range.
Keep the list small. Pick the area and price range you know, so your comps and your plan are specific.
When to contact the owner: only after the agreement ends
Contact the owner only after the listing agreement has truly ended. NAR’s Code of Ethics bars Realtors from soliciting an owner who is still exclusively listed, and targeted letters count too, not only calls.
Rule: “REALTORS® shall not solicit a listing which is currently listed exclusively with another broker,” says Standard of Practice 16-4. If the listing broker won’t tell you the expiration date when asked, you may contact the owner to find out.
Before you reach out, confirm three things (our checklist):
- Status: the MLS shows Expired or Canceled, not Withdrawn or Temporarily Off Market.
- History: the home wasn’t relisted, extended or sold under a new MLS number.
- Date: the expiration date has passed. A letter that lands before it is a solicitation of a listed home.
Expect other agents to call fresh expireds the same week (our view). HousingWire’s guide also suggests working listings that expired six months to a year ago, once you confirm they haven’t sold or relisted.
Outreach rules: Do Not Call, texts, mail and door knocking
Calling expired listings is legal only within the rules below. A number on the Do Not Call Registry is off limits for sales calls unless an exemption applies. These are plain warnings, not legal advice, and your state or broker may add more.
Calls and texts: Do Not Call and the TCPA
Treat every expired owner as a cold contact. You’ve had no business with them, so the 18-month exemption for past clients doesn’t help. That’s our reading of the Do Not Call Q&A from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Rule: in a 2005 order, the FCC said agents’ calls offering their services to owners are telephone solicitations, “whether the property listing has lapsed or not.” Source: Federal Register, April 13, 2005, page 19331.
Before you dial (our summary of FTC and FCC rules):
- National registry: scrub numbers against the National Do Not Call Registry at least every 31 days. The rules cover calls and texts to cell phones too, per 47 CFR 64.1200.
- State lists: many states keep their own do-not-call lists, per the FCC.
- Hours: federal rules allow telemarketing calls from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the owner’s time zone. Florida law stops sales calls at 8 p.m.
- Texts and dialers: commercial texts sent with an autodialer need written consent, per the FCC’s consumer guide. Prerecorded or AI-voice sales calls need prior written consent too, and so do autodialed sales calls to cell phones.
- Requests to stop: record every “don’t call me” and stop calling. FCC rules allow at most 10 business days to honor it.
For interstate telemarketing, the FTC lists fines of up to $53,088 per violation. Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), someone who gets two or more such calls from one business in 12 months can sue. Damages run up to $500 per violation, and a court can triple that if the violation was willful or knowing.
Email, mail and door knocking
Mail is often the only channel left for a registered number, and it has rules of its own:
- Letters and postcards: federal do-not-call rules cover calls and texts, not mail. Article 16 of NAR’s Code still applies, so mail only after the agreement ends.
- Email: the FTC’s CAN-SPAM guide requires honest subject lines, your postal address and an opt-out you honor within 10 business days.
- Door knocking: check your town’s rules on door-to-door solicitation first, and skip any door with a “No soliciting” sign.
- Your brokerage name: Standard of Practice 12-5 requires your firm’s name on ads for your services. We read that as covering letters and postcards.
Expired listing scripts: six examples to adapt
These expired listing scripts ask before they pitch, because the owner just watched their home fail to sell. They’re examples to adapt, not promises of results. Many agents look for an expired listing scripts PDF: paste these six into a doc, fill in the brackets and save your own.
1. The first call after it expires
Use it once you’ve confirmed the status and scrubbed the number.
Example script (first call): “Hi, is this [owner name]? This is [name] with [brokerage]. I saw your home on [street] came off the market. Are you still hoping to sell? What do you think kept it from selling?”
Then let them talk. Their answer tells you which part of the relaunch to lead with.
2. Voicemail
Keep it under 20 seconds and give one reason to call back.
Example script (voicemail): “Hi [owner name], this is [name] with [brokerage]. I noticed your home on [street] is off the market. I have two ideas on pricing and photos for it. If you’d like them, call me at [number]. Thanks.”
3. Door knock
Bring a one-page list of nearby sales. If nobody answers, leave it at the door, never in the mailbox: federal mail law bars unstamped items there.
Example script (door): “Hi, I’m [name], a local agent with [brokerage]. I saw your home came off the market, and I’m not here to pressure you. I brought a list of what sold nearby this year. If you plan to sell again, would a 20-minute look at what to change help?”
4. When the owner blames the last agent
Don’t join in. NAR’s Code bars false or misleading statements about other agents (Article 15), and criticism rarely builds trust anyway.
Example script (bad agent): “That sounds frustrating, and I’m sorry it went that way. I can’t speak for another agent. What would you want done differently next time?”
5. When the owner wants to wait
Respect it, and offer something useful instead of a pitch.
Example script (waiting): “That makes sense. Many owners take a break. Would it help if I sent a short note when homes like yours sell on your street? Then you’ll have real numbers when you decide. Is mail fine, or would you prefer text?”
A spoken yes is a start. If the number is on the Do Not Call Registry, FCC rules require a signed, written agreement before marketing calls or texts. Log the answer in your customer relationship management (CRM) tool, and stop at once if they ask.
6. Follow-up for an older expired listing
Use it for homes that expired months ago and haven’t relisted.
Example script (older expired): “Hi [owner name], this is [name] with [brokerage]. Your home on [street] was on the market earlier this year. Are you still thinking about selling, or did your plans change?”
Expired listing letter and postcards, with examples
Expired listing postcards and letters reach owners you can’t call, such as those whose numbers are on do-not-call lists. Send them only after the agreement ends, and make them about the home, not about you.
Example letter
Adapt this to the home. One page is enough.
Example letter:
Dear [owner name],
I saw that your home on [street] came off the market on [date]. After weeks of showings, that’s frustrating.
If you still plan to sell, here’s what I would change first:
- A price based on sales from the last 90 days, not the original list price.
- New photos, with the empty rooms staged.
- A relaunch weekend with an open house and a new description.
I’ve enclosed recent sales near you. If a 20-minute talk would help, call or text me at [phone].
[Name], [brokerage], [phone]
What makes a letter worth reading (our checklist):
- Be specific: name the street and one fact about the home, so it doesn’t read like a form letter.
- Skip the blame: don’t criticize the last agent or the price the owner chose.
- Show, don’t promise: include recent sales, never a promised price or sale date.
Example postcard text
A postcard works as the second touch, a few days after the letter.
Example postcard text: “Your home came off the market. Here’s what sold near [street] since then: [three recent sales]. Want a free relaunch plan with new pricing, photos and staging? Call or text [name], [brokerage], [phone].”
How to relaunch the home so it sells this time
Win the listing with a plan that changes what buyers see. Relaunching the same price, photos and description under a new name rarely helps (our view). Our guide on how to sell a stale listing covers 15 fixes and MLS relisting rules in detail.
A five-step relaunch plan (our suggestion):
- Price from fresh comps: pull sales and pending deals from the last 90 days, plus nearby expireds, and show where buyers stopped looking.
- New photos: shoot them for the new listing. Our guide to real estate photos with an iPhone helps if no photographer is free.
- Staged empty rooms: stage physically or virtually, and label every virtually staged photo. California also requires a link to the original, unaltered photo.
- New description: lead with what buyers liked, using our listing description examples.
- Launch week: go live with the full photo set, hold an open house that weekend and call agents who showed the home before. Our open house prep checklist covers the week before and the day itself.
Bring the plan to the appointment. Our free listing presentation templates have slides for price, marketing and staging.
Watch out: don’t reuse the old listing photos without the rights holder’s permission, and get it in writing. Copyright “initially belongs to the author(s) who created that work,” per the U.S. Copyright Office. NAR’s photo guidance cites a photo company that said it licensed photos to brokers only for marketing active listings.
Where TINTY fits in the relaunch
We make TINTY, so here’s where it helps, limits included:
- Free previews: upload a photo of an empty room and get free, watermarked previews in about 30 seconds, no card needed, on a phone or a laptop.
- Rooms: nine room types, such as bedrooms, living rooms and home offices. No kitchens, bathrooms, building exteriors or yards.
- Limits: it doesn’t declutter or remove furniture yet, so it works on empty rooms. Finished photos are 2K.
- Small changes: after the previews, type a note such as “add plants” for the final render.
- Label: you can add a “Virtually staged” label when you download. Our guide to virtual staging disclosure rules covers state laws and MLS requirements.
At the appointment, ask the owner if you can photograph one empty room with your phone. Then make a free TINTY preview from that photo, never from the old listing photos. It shows your marketing, not a promise about price. If you win the listing, render a paid final without the watermark.
Short on time? Email photos of empty living spaces to hello@tinty.ai with each room type and style. TINTY Studio, our done-for-you virtual staging service, returns them staged in 2 to 24 hours. It’s $10 a photo from 3 photos, per TINTY’s pricing page, and you pay only if you’re happy.
Follow-up cadence: when to try again
Most expired owners won’t decide on the first call, so plan a short sequence and stop when asked (our view). Here’s a sample cadence, our suggestion and not a rule:
- Day 1: call if the number is clear to call, or knock, and mail the letter.
- Days 3 to 5: send the postcard with recent nearby sales.
- Day 7: call once more, or leave a short voicemail.
- Day 14: drop off or mail a one-page relaunch plan.
- Monthly after that: a market note for their street, by mail, or by text or email if they said yes.
Log every answer in your CRM: plans, timeline and any request to stop. A do-not-call request must be honored for at least five years, per FCC rules.
Expired listings FAQ
What does expired mean on a house listing?
It means the listing agreement reached its end date without a sale, so the home went off the market and shows as Expired in the MLS. The owner can relist with the same agent, hire a new one or wait. Check the status history, because a home can be extended or relisted within days.
Can you call expired listings on the Do Not Call list?
Not to offer your services. The FCC treats those calls as telephone solicitations whether the listing lapsed or not. Exemptions are narrow, such as a recent transaction with your firm. Instead, mail a letter or knock where local rules allow, once the agreement has ended (general information, not legal advice).
Show 4 more questionsShow fewer questions
How soon can you contact an expired listing?
Once the agreement has ended, and not before. Confirm the status is Expired or Canceled and that the home wasn’t relisted, and check your MLS’s data-use rules. NAR’s Code bars soliciting an owner who is still exclusively listed with another broker.
Can you use the old listing photos when you relist?
Not without the rights holder’s permission, and get it in writing. The photographer or the previous broker often holds the rights, and a license may cover only the old listing. Shoot new photos, and stage empty rooms with a clear label.
How many times should you follow up with an expired listing?
There’s no set number. We suggest four or five touches in the first two weeks, then a monthly note, and stopping at once when the owner asks. Honor do-not-call requests for at least five years.
Do expired listing letters work?
We found no independent data on response rates, and vendor figures aren’t neutral. A letter still reaches owners you can’t call, and a specific plan reads better than a form letter. Treat any results claim with care.
How we researched this
On October 9, 2026, we read the pages that rank in Google for “expired listing” and “expired listing scripts.” They include six guides from HousingWire (two), Tom Ferry, Redfin, Follow Up Boss and Mashvisor. Three never mention Do Not Call rules, and only Tom Ferry’s guide tells agents to check MLS rules before prospecting with MLS data.
Rules come from the Federal Register, eCFR, U.S. Code, FTC, FCC, NAR, CRMLS, Canopy MLS and U.S. Copyright Office pages, read the same day. Market figures come from NAR’s free 2025 Generational Trends report.
TINTY facts come from our live pages and our product team, checked October 9, 2026. If something here is wrong, email hello@tinty.ai and we’ll fix it.
Sources
All pages read October 9, 2026. Dates in parentheses are publication or update dates.
Rules for calls, texts, email and mail:
- Federal Register: FCC 05-28, Rules and Regulations Implementing the TCPA (April 13, 2005; page 19331 on agents’ calls to owners of lapsed listings)
- FTC: Q&A for Telemarketers and Sellers About DNC Provisions in the TSR (edited September 2026; 31-day sync, 18-month and 3-month exemptions, $53,088 penalty)
Show 21 more sourcesShow fewer sources
- eCFR: 47 CFR 64.1200, Delivery restrictions (paragraphs ©, (d) and (e): calling hours, do-not-call requests, wireless numbers)
- Florida Statutes, section 501.616: telephone solicitation hours (subsection (6)(a); text read on FindLaw, current as of January 1, 2025)
- FCC: Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Texts (updated February 27, 2026)
- Cornell LII: 47 U.S. Code section 227 (TCPA) (subsection ©(5), private right of action)
- FTC: CAN-SPAM Act, A Compliance Guide for Business (August 2023, edited January 2024)
- Cornell LII: 18 U.S. Code section 1725 (unstamped items in mailboxes)
MLS and NAR rules:
- CRMLS Rules and Policies (PDF) (effective July 10, 2026; Rule 10.1 statuses, Rule 12.11 use of MLS information)
- Canopy MLS: Listing Statuses and Status Changes (last updated April 24, 2026)
- CRMLS: June 2023 Broker Report (June 28, 2023; Rule 12.11 and expired listings)
- NAR 2026 Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice (Article 15, Article 16, Standards of Practice 12-5 and 16-4)
Photo rights:
- U.S. Copyright Office: Circular 1, Copyright Basics (PDF) (revised September 2021)
- NAR: Who Owns Your Property Photos? (November 9, 2016)
Market data:
- NAR 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends (PDF) (April 2025; Exhibits 3-6 and 7-6)
Guides that rank for this topic:
- HousingWire: How to find expired listings, 9 proven strategies (July 24, 2025)
- HousingWire: 12 expired listing scripts (July 16, 2025)
- Tom Ferry: Expired listing scripts, how to find and convert leads (August 10, 2026)
- Redfin: An expired real estate listing, what to know (November 15, 2025)
- Follow Up Boss: 5 expired listing scripts (March 18, 2025)
- Mashvisor: 10 ways to get real estate expired listings (updated July 8, 2024)
TINTY and related guides:
- TINTY, AI virtual staging app · Done-for-you virtual staging service · TINTY pricing
- How to get listings · How to sell a stale listing · Listing presentation templates · Real estate listing description examples · Open house ideas · How to take real estate photos with an iPhone · Is virtual staging legal?
