In a recent newsletter, REDX coined a new term to describe what’s happening in the current 2026 real estate market — the “Expired Listing Surge of 2026.”
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As of April 2026, more than 78,000 homes have failed to sell every week. REDX’s tracking also shows that the number of expired listings has increased by 83 percent in the past two years. What steps do you need to take to capitalize on this situation? This answer is very much old school Real Estate 101. Here’s what to do.
Why do listings expire?
Sellers whose homes have been “rejected” by the market often blame their agent for not doing enough to get the property sold. In virtually every case, the primary reason their listing failed to sell is the price.
While there may be serious issues with a property, the correct pricing almost always conquers all of them. On the other hand, the real issue could have been a weak agent who lacked the skills to negotiate a realistic price.
5 reasons for working expired listings
- Expired listings are at the top of the list for locating “right-now” business, since they have already identified themselves as sellers in today’s market.
- You can target exactly the listings you want to work by location, price, and what fits best with niche and your style of marketing.
- When you market to the owners of expired listings you avoid wasting your time and money mailing or calling strangers who have no interest in selling now. Instead your direct mailing and prospecting are targeted to the “right-now” market.
- When listings expire, many sellers are more willing to lower the price with a new listing agent.
- A yard sign with a QR code on the brochure box in front of your listing allows buyers to access all the property information immediately. Better yet, the person’s phone number who scanned your QR code is sent to you instantly, allowing you to reach them while they’re still in front of the property.
The upshot of all of this is that every expired listing you convert opens up all the marketing opportunities to generate additional business from a new listing.
Targeting the right listings is crucial to your success
Before you contact any seller, determine whether they have they already relisted with another agent and whether their phone number is on the Do Not Call Registry (DNCR).
Virtually all the successful agents I’ve worked with over the past 20-plus years have used REDX to scrub which leads are on the DNCR. Other companies providing this service include ArchAgent, PropStream and Vulcan 7.
7 criteria to determine which expired listings to focus on
Not every expired listing deserves your time and energy. Agents who build sustainable expired-listing businesses know how to separate the good opportunities from those listings that will expire again. Here’s a list of where to begin.
1. Focus on location first
Avoid taking a listing that won’t sell. Your best choices will be expired listings where there is high demand and high sales activity. To determine this, research the recently sold listing data to determine the level of activity where the expired is located. Having a beautiful listing in an area with no activity means you may be on the road to having a listing that expires again.
2. Review the property condition
Review the listing photos carefully. Is the property suited to the buyers who are actually purchasing in that neighborhood right now? Newer homes and well-maintained older homes tend to move best in many areas.
If there are issues with the property’s condition, are they minor or major? Overgrown shrubbery, tired flower beds, a front door that clashes with the trim, a broken doorbell or other easy fixes are almost always worth having the seller repair.
3. Examine the marketing history
What did the previous agent actually do? Did they use strong photography that showed the home to its best advantage? Many sellers fail to realize that their online photos are their first showing.
If the previous marketing was weak or generic, explain to the seller that photography is the first showing. Buyers use online photos to disqualify homes before they ever schedule an appointment to see the property.
4. Ensure the price is realistic
As noted earlier, most listings expire because they are overpriced. Before you approach the seller, run a detailed CMA, so you’re certain about where the current listing price should be. If the seller is still anchored to the old number and is stuck on their old price, avoid wasting your time and money on property where there is no path to closing.
5. Check out the previous listing agent
If a strong, competent agent could not sell the property, there is often a seller-side issue at play — unrealistic seller expectations, difficult access or resistance to necessary changes. These situations can be turned around, but only if the seller is willing to hear the hard truths. It’s worthwhile to go on the listing appointment, but if the seller is unrealistic or difficult, do yourself a favor, and walk away.
6. Staging is a must
Staging remains one of the highest-leverage moves you can make, especially with vacant properties, where virtual staging using AI is now available. As many of the most successful agents in the business like to tell their sellers, “You don’t live in a house the way you sell it.” If the sellers are unwilling to make the changes you suggest, again, be willing to walk away.
7. Easy access still matters
Agents show the homes that are easiest to show first. Fix the things that make the listing undesirable or that make showing the property a hassle — no lockbox, limited hours for showing, no open houses, the sticking front door, the alarm system and pets that aren’t crated. Any of these limitations can mean your listing will not get shown because a different listing was easier to access.
Old school is still an advantage in today’s market
The expired listing surge is real. The question is whether you will meet it with proven tactics that work so that sellers who were previously disappointed will decide to list and sell with you. There’s a wealth of tools that identify homeowners whose listings have expired — the rest is up to you.
Bernice Ross is president and CEO of BrokerageUP and RealEstateCoach.com, the founder of Profit.RealEstate and a national speaker, author and trainer with over 1,500 published articles.
