Cancelled and Withdrawn Listings: How to Call Them

Most agents who prospect off-market listings call expireds and stop there. That leaves two statuses on the same MLS hotsheet that get far fewer dials: cancelled and withdrawn. Both mean a home came off the market without selling. Both can mean a seller who still wants to move. But the reason the listing ended is different in each case, and that changes how you open the call.

This guide covers what each status usually means, how to find them the morning they change, a call script for each, and the compliance checks to run before you dial.

Expired, cancelled and withdrawn: what each status tells you

MLS status names vary by market, so check your own board's definitions. In most systems they break down like this.

Expired. The listing agreement ran out on its end date and the home didn't sell. Nobody decided to end it; the date passed. Expired owners are the most called leads in real estate, which is covered in detail in how to call expired listings.

Cancelled. The agreement was ended before its end date. In many markets "cancelled unconditionally" means the seller and the brokerage parted ways for good. Often the seller fired the agent. That often makes a cancelled seller someone with no agent, unhappy with how the first attempt went, who may still need to sell. Some boards also use a conditional cancellation, where the agreement stays in force until a set date, so confirm the agreement really ended before you call.

Withdrawn. The home was pulled off the market, but the listing agreement may still be in force. The seller might be taking a break over the holidays, finishing repairs, or waiting out a tenant. A withdrawn listing can also go back on the market with the same agent. That's the status where you need to be most careful about who still holds the listing.

Here's the quick version:

Why these leads are worth the dial

A cancelled seller made an active decision. They didn't just wait for the paper to run out. Someone who fires their agent mid-listing is usually still motivated and now has nobody working for them. If your market doesn't produce many expireds, cancelled listings and FSBOs should move to the top of your list.

Withdrawn listings are softer. Some of those owners have truly changed their minds. Others pulled the home because showings dried up or an offer fell through, and they'll list again in a few months. Those are relationship calls. The goal is to be the agent they remember when they're ready.

How to find them before everyone else does

Speed matters more on these than on any other lead type. The first agent who calls with a clear reason gets the conversation. The tenth gets hung up on.

Set up an automatic search in your MLS for status changes. Select every off-market status your board uses: expired, cancelled (including "cancelled unconditionally"), withdrawn, and terminated if your MLS has it. Set the delivery to "immediately" or "ASAP" instead of a daily digest. That way the change often reaches your inbox before the paid lead services push it out to other agents.

Then call that morning. A line that works on a fresh cancellation:

"Hi Maria, it's [your name] with [your brokerage]. I saw your home on Oak Street came off the market this morning. You're probably going to get a lot of calls today, and I wanted to be the first. Did it sell, or is it still available?"

That last question does the diagnostic work. If it sold privately, you're done in ten seconds. If it's still available, you're in a real conversation.

In AVEX, a hotsheet export goes straight into the call list. Each row is tagged Expired, Withdrawn or Cancelled based on the status text in your file, so you can filter to the cancelled sellers first and work the withdrawn ones after.

The cancelled listing script

A cancelled seller is often angry. You're the next agent calling, so you'll catch some of it. Don't take it personally, and let them vent before you pitch anything.

1. Open short and specific.

"Hi Maria, it's [your name] with [your brokerage]. Two quick questions. Do you have 30 seconds?"

2. Confirm the status.

"I saw the listing on Oak Street was cancelled. Did you sell it, or is it still available?"

3. Ask what happened, and then listen.

"What happened with the last agent?"

This is where cancelled calls differ from expired ones. The seller usually has a story, and they want to tell it. Let them. Say "I don't blame you" and mean it. Don't agree that the last agent was bad, and never trash them yourself. Disparaging the previous agent makes you look like the next person who'll talk about the seller behind their back.

4. Make your claim.

"From what you're describing, I'm confident that home can sell with a different plan."

Only say that if you believe it after looking at the listing. If the price was far over the comps, say less and save the price talk for the appointment.

5. Ask for a short meeting with two time options.

"I'd like 15 minutes to walk the house and show you what I'd do differently. I'll be in your area tomorrow. Is 4 or 6 better?"

6. Uncover motivation.

About a minute in, soften your tone and ask where they were planning to go when the home sold. That question tells you more about urgency than anything else on the call. More on this in the seller motivation script.

The withdrawn listing script

With a withdrawn listing, the first job is to find out whether the home is still under contract with another brokerage. If it is, you don't solicit that listing. Article 16 of the NAR Code of Ethics bars soliciting a listing that's held exclusively by another broker. Standard of Practice 16-4 does let you ask the owner when the agreement expires and what type it is, if the listing broker won't tell you, and you can talk about a future listing that starts after it ends. Note the date and call after the agreement has ended. Your board or MLS may treat withdrawn listings differently, so ask your broker.

1. Open and confirm.

"Hi Dan, it's [your name] with [your brokerage]. I noticed your home on Birch Lane was taken off the market. Did you decide to hold off on selling for now?"

2. Ask the reason.

"What changed your mind?"

The answer sorts the call. "We're redoing the kitchen" means a follow-up date. "We had an offer fall through and we're exhausted" means a seller who still wants out.

3. Ask about the agreement directly.

"Are you still working with your agent, or did that wrap up?"

If they're still under agreement, stop selling. Wish them well, ask if you can check back in a few months, and set the task.

4. If they're free to talk, offer value instead of a pitch.

"Would it help if I sent you what's sold and gone under contract near you since you came off the market? No strings attached. That way you'll know where you stand when you're ready."

A refreshed CMA is a strong reason for a second call.

Follow-up: where most of these listings are won

Most cancelled and withdrawn sellers won't book on the first call. The goal of that first call is to open a relationship and earn the right to call again. Say your follow-up plan out loud before you hang up so they expect you:

"I'll check in next week with anything that sells near you."

Then keep that promise. Each call should bring something new, like a nearby sale or a price change on a competing listing. Calls that only "check in" tend to go unanswered.

In AVEX, logging an outcome on a call list row handles the scheduling. "No answer" brings the lead back the next day. "Left voicemail" brings it back in two days. "Talked" or "Appointment set" moves the contact forward in your pipeline. For voicemail wording, see real estate voicemail scripts.

Compliance before you dial

Off-market sellers are cold leads. No prior relationship exists, so the usual rules for cold calling apply:

• Scrub every number against the National Do Not Call Registry and your state list before calling, and rescrub at least every 31 days. The FTC runs the federal registry at donotcall.gov.
• Keep an internal do-not-call list and honor requests right away.
• Call between 8am and 9pm in the owner's time zone, the federal window. Some states set narrower hours or limit Sunday calls, so check yours.
• Don't text a cold lead. Texts count as calls under federal rules, so text only people who opted in. See texting real estate leads legally.

AVEX blocks numbers flagged DNC from the dialer. A DNC number never reaches the browser, and a "DNC request" outcome closes the lead. That helps, but it doesn't replace your own compliance process. The full rundown is in cold calling and DNC rules.

Not legal advice. Check your state rules and your broker.