Short answer: I wouldn’t automatically relist tomorrow, and I wouldn’t automatically wait six months either.

If your previous listing has ended without a sale, I’d first figure out why the house didn’t sell.

Then we decide whether waiting actually improves anything.

Because if we relist the same house, at the same price, with the same presentation and basically the same plan, we shouldn’t be surprised if we get the same result.

First Question: Why Didn’t the House Sell?

This is where I’d start.

Not with a new sign.

Not with new paperwork.

Not with picking another date to put it back on the market.

I want to know what happened the first time.

Did you get very few showings?

Did you get plenty of showings but no offers?

Did you receive offers but couldn’t come together on price?

Did buyers keep mentioning the same issue?

Did the home need repairs?

Was the price too aggressive?

Was the marketing weak?

Or did something change in your own plans while the house was listed?

Those answers matter.

A listing that had two showings in three months has a different problem from one that had 25 showings and three offers.

Does Taking the House Off the Market Reset Everything?

Not really.

Buyers have more information than ever.

They can often see that a property was previously listed, how long it was available and whether the price changed.

So simply taking a house off the market and bringing it back later doesn’t automatically give us a clean slate.

That doesn’t mean relisting is a bad idea.

It means we should give buyers a reason to look at the property differently this time.

Maybe that’s:

• A better price
• Better photos
• Repairs or improvements
• Better presentation
• A different marketing plan
• Better timing
• Or several of those things together

“New listing” isn’t much of a strategy by itself.

Should I Wait for the Market to Get Better?

Maybe.

But I’d want to be pretty clear about what we’re waiting for.

That’s one of those phrases that sounds good:

“Let’s wait for a better market.”

Okay.

What specifically needs to get better?

More buyers?

Less competition?

Lower interest rates?

A stronger selling season?

Your home’s condition?

If we have a real reason to believe waiting improves your position, then waiting can make sense.

But I wouldn’t take the house off the market for six months just hoping something magical changes.

Right now, Hampton Roads buyers have more homes to choose from than they did a year ago.

REIN reported 6,120 active residential listings in August 2026, up 7.2% from August 2025. Median days on market was 27 days.

That doesn’t mean homes aren’t selling.

They are.

It means buyers have choices.

So if your home didn’t sell the first time, I’d want the second attempt to be better — not just newer.

What If We Had Almost No Showings?

That usually gets my attention pretty quickly.

If your home was online for weeks and qualified buyers weren’t even coming through the door, I’d look hard at:

Price.

Photos.

Presentation.

How the property compared with the competition.

Buyers make a lot of decisions before they ever schedule a showing.

If the listing was getting plenty of online exposure but very few appointments, simply relisting at the same price probably isn’t my first choice.

We need to fix whatever kept buyers from wanting to see it.

What If We Had Lots of Showings but No Offers?

That tells me something different.

The online listing worked.

People were interested enough to visit.

Then they walked through the house and chose not to buy it.

Now I’m looking at:

• Condition
• Buyer feedback
• Layout
• Location
• Competition
• Price compared with what they saw in person

This is why I keep saying the market gives us clues.

We just have to be willing to listen to them.

Should I Lower the Price Before Relisting?

Maybe.

But I wouldn’t reduce the price just so we can say we changed something.

I’d want the new price to make sense.

Let’s say the house was listed for $450,000 for 90 days and didn’t sell.

Taking it off the market and bringing it back at $449,000 probably isn’t going to change many buyers’ minds.

If price was the problem, the adjustment needs to be meaningful enough to change the way buyers see the home.

And before we decide that, I want to know what has sold since the original listing started.

That’s information we didn’t have on day one.

Should I Make Repairs Before Trying Again?

Possibly.

If buyers repeatedly complained about the same thing, I’d pay attention.

Maybe the carpet was worn.

Maybe there was obvious wood rot.

Maybe the house needed paint.

Maybe there was a crawl-space concern.

Maybe the landscaping made a poor first impression.

Not every repair is worth making.

I still don’t believe in throwing money at a house just because you’re selling it.

But sometimes fixing one obvious problem can remove an objection that hurt us the first time around.

What If I Received an Offer but Turned It Down?

This is an important one.

Suppose you listed at $450,000.

A buyer offered $430,000.

You said no.

The house stayed on the market for another two months and eventually came off without selling.

Now I’d go back and look at that offer again — not because you necessarily made the wrong decision, but because it gave us information.

Were other buyers willing to pay more?

Did comparable homes sell for more?

What has happened since?

Sometimes an offer that looked too low at the time looks different after another 60 days of market activity.

That’s not Monday-morning quarterbacking.

It’s using new information.

Should I Use the Same Agent Again?

That’s your decision.

A home failing to sell does not automatically mean the agent did a bad job.

There are good agents who have listings that don’t sell.

Sometimes sellers and agents made a reasonable plan and the market simply didn’t cooperate.

What I’d want to know is:

Do you understand what happened?

Did your agent communicate with you?

Did you receive useful feedback?

Did the marketing make sense?

Were pricing conversations based on actual market information?

Was there a plan when the house wasn’t getting the expected response?

And most importantly:

If you do it again, what is going to be different?

Whether you work with the same agent or somebody new, I think that question deserves a good answer.

One Important Thing Before Talking to Another Brokerage

If your property was recently listed, make sure your previous listing agreement has actually ended before entering into another brokerage relationship.

The MLS status and the brokerage agreement aren’t necessarily the same thing.

Virginia REALTORS notes that the listing agreement itself controls important rights and obligations between a seller and brokerage, including when fees may be earned.

So I’d look at your paperwork first rather than guessing.

How Long Should I Wait Before Relisting?

I don’t think there’s a magic number.

Sometimes I’d relist fairly quickly.

Other times I might recommend waiting.

What matters is whether we’ve done enough to give the second listing a better chance than the first one.

If we need two weeks to:

• Make repairs
• Improve the landscaping
• Clean and declutter
• Get new photography
• Rework the pricing
• Build a better marketing plan

Then take the two weeks.

I’d rather come back prepared than rush back onto the market just because we can.

What I’d Tell a Smithfield Seller Sitting Across the Table From Me

If your home didn’t sell, I wouldn’t call that a failure and move on.

I’d treat it like information.

Something happened.

Buyers saw the listing.

Some may have visited.

Some may have given feedback.

Maybe somebody even made an offer.

There’s a story in all of that.

Our job is to figure out what that story is.

Then we decide whether to relist now, make changes first or wait for a better time.

What I wouldn’t recommend is doing the exact same thing again and hoping for a different result.

Your Previous Listing Ended. What Now?

If your previous listing agreement has ended and you’re deciding what to do next with a home in Smithfield, Isle of Wight, Carrollton, Suffolk or elsewhere in Hampton Roads, ask me.

Call or text me at 757-880-7061 or email me at [email protected].

I’m happy to look at what happened the first time and give you a straightforward opinion about what I’d change before trying again.

No pressure. Just an honest conversation.

Jason Goodin
Principal Broker
Virginia 1st Realty Group

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I immediately relist my house after the listing expires?

Not necessarily. First figure out why it didn’t sell. If something needs to change — price, condition, presentation or marketing — I’d address that before relisting.

Does waiting before relisting make buyers forget the old listing?

I wouldn’t count on that. Property history is widely available. A better reason to wait is to give yourself time to make meaningful changes before going back on the market.

Should I lower the price when I relist?

If price contributed to the home not selling, probably. But the new price should be based on current competition, recent sales and what happened during the first listing — not just an arbitrary reduction.

Can I relist with a different real estate agent?

Once your prior brokerage agreement has properly ended, you can generally decide how you want to proceed. Review your existing agreement first so you understand any terms that may continue after the listing period.

What should be different the second time I list?

That depends on why the home didn’t sell. It may be price, repairs, presentation, photography, marketing, timing or a combination of those things. The important part is having an actual reason to expect a different result.