Happy Agent Co. - Real Estate Agent Podcast for Women - Hosted by Lindsay Dreyer, Real Estate Coach

Your Listing Isn’t Selling...Now What?

• Lindsay Dreyer • Season 1 • Episode 37

Share episode

It’s the most defeating feeling: you’ve prepped the listing, nailed the photos, crafted the perfect MLS description, hosted an open house…and then: crickets.

In today’s market, even great listings are sitting—and it can shake your confidence fast. But a stale listing isn’t a failure. It’s feedback. And in this episode, Lindsay walks you through exactly what to do when your listing isn’t selling.

You’ll learn:

  • How to reset your mindset (before you spiral)
  • The data points you actually need to analyze
  • What to audit—and how to relaunch like a boss
  • Ways to refresh buyer interest without starting from scratch
  • Her go-to script for keeping sellers calm and trusting you

Plus, the weekly communication strategy that keeps clients loyal (even when it takes 7 months to sell).

Whether you’ve got a listing sitting right now or you just want to be prepared, this episode will help you take back control, protect your peace, and get that property SOLD.

*****************************************************

Let's stay connected!

💼 Coaching with Lindsay – happyagent.co/coaching

Get personalized strategy, support, and mindset shifts to scale your real estate business without sacrificing your joy.

🎓 Happy Agent Academy – happyagent.co/academy

Your go-to resource for freebies, on-demand courses, templates, and tools to help you grow a thriving real estate business.

📩 Join the Happy Hustle Newsletter – happyagent.co/subscribe

Weekly insights, strategies, and real talk to help you build wealth, lead boldly, and create a business you love.

📲 Connect with Happy Agent Co. on Instagram or Facebook – instagram.com/happyagentco

📲 Connect with Lindsay on Instagram or Facebook – instagram.com/lindsaydreyer...

Speaker 1:

Can you believe that we are almost in September? I cannot. It has been probably the longest, shortest year of my life. Welcome to the Happy Agent Co podcast. I am Lindsay Dreyer, your host, real estate coach, broker-joiner, mom of three and someone who has been in the real estate industry for 21 years. Yes, it has been a long and wild ride. First, if it is your first time visiting, welcome, so happy you're here. If you are a return visitor, thank you so much. You are amazing. I would love it if you would find me on Instagram, lindsaydryer also Facebook, lindsaydryer. I love connecting with you guys. Shoot me a message, give me episode ideas. I just love getting your feedback and connecting with you.

Speaker 1:

Today we are diving into a topic that I think is so relevant to the market we are in today, which is your listing that is sitting. It is crickets. We will talk about what you can do, what you cannot, and I really think this is super pertinent to so many of us because we have entered the listings that are not selling market, which is a very hard place to be. I remember early on in my career when a listing didn't sell in the first two weekends I had a complete mentee bee, like I went into a downward spiral. You can ask my husband. It was like utter failure in my face. So I will tell you. We have all been there. It happens to all of us Like you have put in so much work, you've listed the house, did the photos, the mls description is the chef's kiss. You didn't just copy and paste it from chad gpt. You had an open house and then it is like completely crickets. It is the most defeating feeling in the world. You're like checking your phone. You're calling everyone for feedback. You refresh the mls listing. You're calling everyone for feedback. You refresh the MLS listing. You're just like, okay, what's going on? Where's this offer? And you really start spiraling. Is it me, is it the market? Is the seller going to fire me or is the seller hating me right now? So first, just take a deep breath.

Speaker 1:

It is important to get regulated and also understand that you're not alone. It happens to the best of us, even the listing agents who are rock stars, especially now, because it is happening to everyone. And today I'm going to walk you through exactly what to do when your listing is sitting, so you can move it from sitting to sold, hopefully without losing your client, your confidence or your mind. All right, so why does this matter? Here is the stark reality that every day a home sits and you know this that its perceived value in a buyer's mind drops. Stale listings are harder to sell. They stress out your sellers, which really makes them lose trust in you quickly, and the longer that you're waiting to take action, the less leverage that you have. So you can turn this around, and there is a short and specific list of things that you can do and a few things that you can't do and that you shouldn't be wasting your time stressing about.

Speaker 1:

So, before we talk about tactics, I need you to get your head in the right place. I have some tips for you. The first is you need to detach from your ego. You need to detach from the desire for the outcome. This is not a personal failure. It is the market telling you something. This is information. The third thing is that you need to be proactive and not reactive. The earlier you make adjustments, the more proactive you are, the more control that you have. So if you realize that your launch was a flop, fix it. Be proactive, do not be reactive. And the third thing is that you need to communicate confidence. You're in control of this process and your seller is relying on you to be that steady influence in this market. Your seller needs you to be calm. They need you to be capable and they need you to be in control. Even if you are absolutely spiraling, even if you are doubting yourself, wondering if this thing will ever sell, you have to communicate confidence in every interaction with your client. Now, that's different than lying, but it is showing that you have a process, you have information, and we will dive into exactly how to do that and my tips for that in a few seconds.

Speaker 1:

It is also super important to understand what you can't control. There's so much we can't control. I know in the Washington DC market right now, where my brokerage is, there is a lot of shit going on that I cannot control and it is frustrating. So there are just some things outside of our hands. There's seasonality, so let's just say, listings in November may naturally get a few less showings than those in April. Interest rates can't change. That Can't change what the Fed's decision is going to be next week. Inventory competition we can't change what other sellers are doing, but it does impact demand. It impacts the market that we're in. We can't change or control buyer psychology, and that is a tough one right now. Sometimes buyers are holding back because of the news cycle. They're seeing layoffs or election uncertainty or economic uncertainty.

Speaker 1:

So a huge part of your job as a real estate agent, especially a listing agent, is helping sellers focus on the things that you can control. A listing agent is helping sellers focus on the things that you can control, because those are the levers that are actually going to get the home sold. These are the things that you can actually do something about and show that you are proactively taking steps to sell their home. So let's get into what do you do when a listing is sitting, and I'm going to give you my step by step guide of what I do when a listing is sitting, and I'm going to give you my step-by-step guide of what I do when a listing is sitting. Step one is the first thing that I think everyone goes to, which is audit. The price Pricing is the number one factor that drives showings and offers, and here is what I do. And here is what I do.

Speaker 1:

I am going to pull weekly the statistics on what is active, what is pending and what has closed, and I am going to track that every single week to see where the movement is. This is very good information because it is showing you what's moving. Is anything at all moving? How many buyers are out there. It's going to give you an idea of what's moving. Is anything at all moving? How many buyers are out there. It's going to give you an idea of what's happening. Now, if you have the ability to do the months of inventory, I also love to pull that so we know that if we're seeing a trend of months of inventory going up, it means that there's more competition. It means that there's not enough buyers to absorb the amount of inventory out there.

Speaker 1:

Now don't forget to factor in seller concessions. So if you are seeing that everyone's offering $10,000 closing credits or agent comp or any of those things, like you need to be, this is your detective hat. You need to put on your detective hat and really audit what is going on with your price. Is it competitive? Now I've seen examples where a listing sits at $750,000 and that home absolutely needed to be listed at $699,000. It had to be there and as the seller or listing agent, they're like we're just going to keep it at $750. If someone wants to negotiate, they'll come along. That listing sat for months and as soon as they dropped it to $699, they had multiple offers, even after sitting on the market for months, and it ended up selling for $10,000 over ask. So price is super important, so that is key. That is the first step. You are going to audit the price and we're not talking about just a CMA. It is a full market overview of what's going on in the market.

Speaker 1:

Now step number two is audit the presentation of the property, because buyers shop with their eyes. They do not shop with their brains usually. So ask yourself are the photos highlighting the property in a way that is enticing? You do not have to use a picture of every room in the house. You do not have to use all of the pictures your photographer sends to you. It is your responsibility as an agent to tell the story of the property.

Speaker 1:

Lowest hanging fruit. Does it have a floor plan? I am telling you floor plans in the photos. It makes such a huge difference. Cuba Casa is an app. You can do a floor plan. You literally scan it with your phone. It is the easiest thing on earth. It takes $15 and maybe 15 minutes of your time and you have a floor plan. You literally scan it with your phone. It is the easiest thing on earth. It takes $15 and maybe 15 minutes of your time and you have a floor plan. There is no excuse to not have a floor plan on every single one of your listings.

Speaker 1:

The next is does the staging match your target buyer, that buyer profile? So I have a condo listing that I recently got under contract and it went under contract the first weekend. We were targeting downsizing or people looking for low maintenance living. It is so crucial that it targets that vibe and person. So my sellers were not that target but we staged their home to make that attractive to their target buyer profile. So if, for example, a home is a family, like you know a family is going to be moving in, you'll have it staged minimally. But maybe you just add little cozy touches, like a kid's room setup or a little book nook and again, like our downsizing target, we like leaned into, like the low maintenance, the like kind of like cozy but spacious vibe. So really putting your marketing hat on and figuring how does this property match the ideal buyer? And then how can I tell the story through staging. It is so crucial tell the story through staging. It is so crucial.

Speaker 1:

The next is could you benefit from a little mini makeover? So this could be the sellers repainting that hideous red wall in the kitchen, which, honestly, you should do pre-listing anyway, but if you couldn't convince them and their home isn't selling, it's probably time to do that now Adding new light fixtures, swapping outdated cabinet hardware. So this is a great opportunity to maybe do a relaunch. Maybe you pull it from the MLS, you withdraw it, cancel your listing agreement or put in writing that you're going to be withdrawing it. Always make sure you have this in writing, because the MLS will come and get you and then doing your mini makeover and then getting some new pictures and relaunching. I'm a huge fan of a relaunch. So, yes, audit your presentation, audit the MLS listing, audit your marketing. Make sure that the home is telling a story that resonates with your ideal buyer. Now, this kind of goes into what I was talking about, which is step number three, which is audit your MLS listing.

Speaker 1:

Okay, your remarks are more than just Chachi PT's gobbledygook that they spit out. They are a movie trailer I want you to think of like you're producing a TV show or you're producing a movie that then is going to be syndicated to Netflix and Hulu and all these places. You need to lead with the best lifestyle features of the property. You need to reorder your pictures so it makes sense, so there's like a flow that you're highlighting the best parts of the home. Also, remove redundancy.

Speaker 1:

I can't stand descriptions that name or call out things that are already featured from the obvious photos. We do not need to put extra information. If there's granite countertops and stainless steel appliances in the pictures, you do not need to say that in the description. The description is honestly for that information that sells the lifestyle and also points out features or selling points of the home that are not readily apparent in the photos. My other favorite thing is I love to do what's called overlay images in MLS. So I will actually call out what amenities are there on the picture. So I'll do like a translucent kind of like square and then I'll put like luxury pool or roof deck with views. So this is really popular for like condo buildings or HOAs that have amenities. So people know exactly what they're looking at with those photos, as long as it doesn't have your branding on it, you can absolutely put text on photos in the MLS and I highly encourage you to do that Same with floor plan.

Speaker 1:

Put it in the photos, like a lot of agents. Upload it as a PDF to the disclosure section. Do not do that. Just put the JPEG or the PNG image of the floor plan. Do it in the MLS photos. That's what people are clicking through. We have to put our mind in like the buyer's mind. Like if I'm a buyer flipping through Redfin or wherever I'm like I'm flipping through those pictures, it's got to grab my attention, it's got to spark my interest, my intrigue.

Speaker 1:

So audit your MLS listing and then, step four, expand your marketing net. If all you've done is put it in the MLS, you've left money on the table so you can try posting to local Facebook groups. Call local agents, start networking with people who sell in the neighborhood where your listing is. Email to your full sphere or database and ask them to share with anyone that they know is looking. Host a broker's open, feature it like wherever you can like door knock neighbors if you feel comfortable with that. But you need to start expanding the marketing net and this is where you just have to get creative, depending on where those target buyers are. So maybe it's relocation you might be doing paid Facebook ads or Instagram ads. So it really is just putting on that marketing hat and figuring out how can I reach our ideal buyers, because that is who you want to get All right.

Speaker 1:

So step five is refresh buyer interest. So this might be like you just need to give it a second debut so we could host a really fun themed open house. You could also do limited time incentives. I have seen people like giveaway scooters or like a Mini Cooper. I mean there's like some pretty crazy stuff that people have done. Obviously, check your local rules, laws, regulations, all of that but there are definitely closing cost credits, rate buy downs, home warranties, whatever your target buyer market would be interested in. Short-term incentives can work.

Speaker 1:

Taking new photos again going into like the relaunch. So maybe it's like flowers in spring and now it's pumpkin time in fall or it's twinkle lights in winter, but make sure that everything is feeling current because people can tell it's ainkle lights in winter. But make sure that everything is feeling current because people can tell it's a stale listing that has been sitting based on the season from the picture. So if you are out of the season when you listed, get some new pictures taken. I know up here in New England. It's so important because if I see some like fall foliage pictures and it is like spring, I know that is a stale AF listing. So just making sure you are doing your best in terms of like refreshing buyer interest, inviting people back through, having a reason for them to come back through, having a reason to follow up with buyers who've been through agents, have been through that is always a good thing. So those small refreshes can sometimes make it feel like a new listing in a buyer's feed and again, huge fan of the MLS relaunch, withdrawing it for a period of time and then relaunching it with new pictures and usually a new price, all right.

Speaker 1:

So those are my step-by-step what to do when a listing is sitting, things you can actually do auditing the price, audit the presentation, audit the MLS listing, expand your marketing net and refresh buyer interest or do a listing relaunch. I also want to dive in to being proactive on your communication because this is a key one. I live and die by my Monday updates to my sellers. So I will send a Monday email to every single one of my sellers and I will let them know what's going on in the market. I will give them a showing report, I will analyze the competition for them and then I gather feedback and let them know what people are saying about the property and then I will present what we need to do this week to try to get their homes sold. So this is crucial in setting expectations with a seller.

Speaker 1:

So I had a seller who actually this is like so sad, but he had a condo and we went on the market, like in Washington DC with a week after Trump got inaugurated and the market in DC like did not respond well to that event happening. So we just had really bad market timing and it was like crickets for a while. We ended up getting under contract. They canceled because the condo association didn't have an approved budget. Long story short, oh my God, seven months later long story short, oh my God, seven months later he actually re-upped his listing agreement after four months and I was like, all right, let's just keep going. And then finally, we ended up getting it under contract and closed seven months later. He was not angry with me, he actually thanked me for sticking it out and I think it's because I literally sent him a weekly update with what was going on, what was happening in the market. What was going on with consumer confidence, buyer psychology? I was keeping him in the loop every step of the way. That is how you get sellers to not be mad at you. Most of the time when your home isn't selling Because it's showing you're on it, they just want to know you're on it because they want to sell their house. And so that is the key, like make sure you are presenting information to the seller on a regular basis, definitely weekly. I highly recommend it and have it be.

Speaker 1:

Data Like this is not your opinion necessarily. This is data that you feel is helpful and gives you information that you guys need to adjust course. So I know a listing that is sitting sucks, but it isn't a death sentence. It's just the market giving you your homework. We now have to do our jobs and if you can stay calm, lead with data, bring creative solutions, you will not only get it sold, but you will strengthen your reputation as an agent who gets it done in this market, even when the market is tough.

Speaker 1:

And you will start to see that people notice your listings are selling while other people's are not, and this is how you become the boss listing agent in your area, because people will start to realize why do only Lindsay's listings sell and everyone else's kind of sit for a long time and people notice. So just remember this the best agents don't always have perfect listings. They have the skill and the confidence to fix imperfect ones and change course. So I know you've got this. I hope this was helpful because I know that it can be really, really frustrating. If you have a friend who's maybe going into a little bit of a spiral, feel free to share this episode with them as a reality check, to give them ideas on what they can do and what they can't do. And again, say hi on Instagram. Lindsaydryer, I'd love to hear from you and until next.

Head Shot

Lindsay Dreyer

Host