How to Call Expired Listings: The Script and the First 30 Seconds

An expired listing is a homeowner who told the whole market they wanted to sell, and then didn't. Few calls carry that much intent. Few are harder, either. By the time you dial, the owner has had strangers walking through the house for months, hasn't seen an offer they liked, and is now fielding call after call from agents.

You get about 30 seconds before it turns into a conversation or a dial tone. Here's what to say in that window, how to structure the rest of the call and how to answer the objections that come up on almost every expired call.

What should you say in the first 30 seconds of an expired listing call?

Open like you already know the person. Use their first name, say the property address early and get to the point. Homeowners can hear hesitation, and a slow, apologetic opener sounds like every other agent who called that morning.

A simple opener:

"Hi John, this is Sarah with [Brokerage]. Quick question about your property on 123 Main Street. Is it still available, or did you decide to hold off on selling?"

Then say one confident thing about the house:

"I'm a local agent and I've been following homes like yours. I'm confident that property will sell."

That second line gives the owner something to react to, and the reaction tells you where they stand. Some will agree. Some will push back hard. Either way you're in a conversation now, and you're no longer talking at them.

During the opener, sound like someone who sells houses every week. Delivery carries as much weight as the words. Match the owner's pace: if they talk slowly and quietly, slow down, and if they're quick and direct, be quick and direct. And keep it short. Say who you are, why you're calling and what you think, then stop. Nobody on an expired call wants the long version of your brokerage's history.

The expired listing call script, step by step

The questions on an expired call don't change much from one call to the next. The path you take to them does. Use this structure and put the wording in your own voice.

1. Identify the property and yourself

"Hi John, this is Sarah with [Brokerage], calling about 123 Main Street."

2. Confirm the status

"Is the home still available, or did you decide to keep it?"

3. Make your claim

"I've looked at the listing and the area. I'm confident it can sell."

4. Ask why they think it didn't sell

"What's your take on why it didn't sell the first time?" Then let them talk. Most owners will tell you exactly what went wrong: price, photos, showings, or how the last agent communicated.

5. Find out where they're going

About a minute in, soften your tone and ask: "By the way, where were you planning to move when it sold?" This is usually where the real motivation comes out. A new job, a growing family, a home already under contract somewhere else.

6. Ask how they set the price

"How did you and your agent arrive at the list price?" The answer tells you whether you're looking at a pricing problem, a marketing problem or both.

7. Ask for a second opinion, then a time

"Would you be open to a second opinion? I can stop by tomorrow at 3, or would 4:30 work better?" A second opinion is a smaller ask than a listing appointment, so you get less resistance. Always offer two specific times. "When are you free?" leaves them room to say never.

8. Get an email at minimum

If they won't meet, ask for an email address so you can send a short market update. Now they're in your follow-up system, and you're a person to them instead of one more number on the caller ID.

What are the most common expired listing objections?

Expired objections are predictable, which works in your favor. Study them and you'll get good at them fast. These are the ones you'll hear most.

"Where were you when my house was on the market?" It's a fair question, so treat it as one: "That's reasonable. I don't blame you for being frustrated. From what I saw, the last agent didn't get a full chance before it came off the market. That's why I'm calling now."

"I'm taking it off the market." Don't accept it and hang up. Ask, "What changed your mind about selling?" A lot of the time it turns out to be a timing issue.

"I'm going to relist with the same agent." Respect it, then ask for the smaller thing: "I respect that. Would it hurt to get a second opinion before you sign again? Worst case, you get another professional view of what your home is worth."

"You're the tenth agent to call me today." Agree with them. "I believe it. You shouldn't have had to take that many calls. I'll be quick."

"What would you do differently?" Be specific. Talk about price strategy, photography, how you'd run showings and how often you'd update them. "More marketing" sounds exactly like the agent they just fired.

A framework for handling any objection

Run the same sequence every time an objection comes up:

1. Listen all the way through before you respond.
2. Agree and acknowledge. "I hear you. That makes sense."
3. Isolate the real issue. "Other than the timing, is there anything else stopping you from selling?" Several vague objections usually hide one real one.
4. Reframe it around what they want: the amount they walk away with, the move date, less stress.
5. Close for the next step, with two specific times.

When should you call expired listings?

Speed matters. Whoever reaches an expired owner first tends to get the most open conversation. Many agents set an automatic MLS search for status changes (expired, withdrawn, cancelled and terminated) with delivery set to "immediately," so the data lands in their inbox before anyone else's.

Within the day, start as soon as legal calling hours open. The federal Telemarketing Sales Rule bars telemarketing calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the homeowner's local time, and some states set tighter windows. An early block, from 8 a.m. to around 10 a.m., catches owners before their day fills up and before most agents start dialing. Save older expireds (three, six or twelve months back) for a later block. Nobody has called those owners in a while.

Is it legal to cold call expired listings?

Yes, if you scrub against the National Do Not Call Registry (at least every 31 days) and your state's list, call within legal hours, disclose any recording and honor every do-not-call request. Before you call a withdrawn or cancelled listing, confirm in the MLS that the listing contract has really ended; don't pitch an owner who is still under an exclusive listing with another agent. Our guide to cold calling rules covers the rest.

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

How to get better at expired calls

Practice the opener, the questions and the close every day, one piece at a time. One day it's your cadence, the next it's the close or a single objection. Record your practice sessions and listen back for tone, pace and confidence. When you hear a new objection, write it down, draft a response and rehearse it until it comes out without thinking.

If you also use mail, send a letter that says "Your property expired. Here's why it may not have sold," with a QR code to a short checklist of common reasons. It gives owners a reason to call you back.