Expired Real Estate

As a realtor, how do you view expired real estate? In some cases of course there is a good reason that another agent walked away, or a home was pulled because the owners did change their minds about selling for whatever reason.

But often expired real estate is more complicated than that. Often a homeowner is trying to sell on their own and has had little success, or they were too stubborn with another realtor when it came to price adjustments, negotiating offers, and making repairs and upgrades to their property. Before you start to think, "Well then why would I want to work with that homeowner?" keep in mind that this may mean they're now ready to be more reasonable!

Contacting Homeowners

The first thing you need to do in order to make money from expired real estate is to contact those homeowners. After introducing yourself you then need to find out about the situation of the home and why it was taken off the market. You can judge if the homeowners are now ready to be more reasonable when it comes to price, maintenance, and so on.

It's good to remember that each home and situation is going to be different. In some cases it may be a matter of necessary upgrades or the staging of a home, if the price is right. Or the homeowners need to understand the price bracket in which they should be. Simply being their new agent is not a guarantee that you'll get sales from expired real estate; you need to be prepared to address any situation that was left unchecked previously.

During this time you can also sell yourself and your abilities; talk about how aggressive you can be and how some changes you have in mind can bring the home into line with comps in the neighborhood. Homeowners that have tried to sell on their own also can be reminded that statistically speaking, this is rarely successful whereas homes represented by the right agent are much more likely to sell.

Marketing Strategies

Very often with expired real estate, potential buyers have already been through the door or have seen the listing online. This means that when a property is listed again, there needs to be an aggressive marketing strategy in order to reassure potential buyers that previous problems have been addressed.

Mentioning a pricing reduction or aggressive pricing strategy, upgrades, recent maintenance, and even staging can help to entice those buyers back through the door. Having open houses will be key as you need to increase foot traffic and bring in those who may be interested in a second viewing.

Understanding the unique situations of expired real estate is the key to getting it in a comparable state and back on the market for a successful sale. However if you do understand the situation and the circumstances, you may see that with the right approach and strategy, these listings may be your own personal goldmine as well!