{"id":23905,"date":"2024-11-08T06:15:49","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T14:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=23905"},"modified":"2025-08-29T22:55:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T05:55:14","slug":"real-estate-listing-agreement-expires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/real-estate-listing-agreement-expires\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happens When A Real Estate Listing Agreement Expires?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When you decide to list your home with a real estate agent, you\u2019ll sign a legally binding contract called a listing agreement that allows your agent to market and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/steps-to-selling-a-house-with-a-realtor\/\">sell your property<\/a> until the real estate listing agreement expires.<\/p>\n<p>In return for managing the transaction, you\u2019ll pay your agent a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/real-estate-agent-commission\/\">real estate commission<\/a> from the proceeds of the sale. But what happens if the listing agreement expires before your house gets sold?<\/p>\n<p>We reached out to two top real estate agents, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/agents\/brian-fitzpatrick-ma-0009048768\">Brian Fitzpatrick<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/waltham-ma\/top-real-estate-agents?Page=1\">Waltham, Massachusetts<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/agents\/andrew-poe-tn-326625\">Andrew Poe<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/knoxville-tn\/top-real-estate-agents?Page=1\">Knoxville, Tennessee<\/a> to find out common reasons that a listing agreement might expire and what sellers need to know before moving forward with their home sale after it does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"geo-cta widget-cta widget-cta--content     widget-cta--dark widget-cta--dark-blue-gradient\">\n    <div class=\"widget-element--content\">\n        <div class=\"widget-element--content-header\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"homelight logo\" class=\"widget-element--logo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ccprototypev5\/images\/logo-small-cta.png\" width=\"106\" height=\"25\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n        \n                <h3 class=\"cta-headline widget--bold\">Connect with a Top Agent<\/h3>\n                        <p>According to HomeLight data, top agents are more likely to sell homes faster and for more money than average agents.<\/p>\n        \n                <div class=\"widget-element--buttons\">\n            <a data-type=\"In Content CTA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/find-agent\/quiz\/seller?#\/qaas=0\/\" class=\"cta-click-track widget-element--button\">Find Agent<\/a>\n        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2><div id=\"section--1\" data-toc-header=\"Types of listing agreements\" data-toc-type=\"head\"><\/div>Types of listing agreements<\/h2>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/listing-agreement\/\">listing agreement<\/a> sets the wheels in motion for your home sale. The National Association of Realtors\u00ae defines the three most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nar.realtor\/handbook-on-multiple-listing-policy\/section-3-definitions-of-various-types-of-listing-agreements\">common types of listing agreements<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s what you need to know about your next steps if your real estate listing expires. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":319,"featured_media":23985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[321,238],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-attract-buyers","category-working-with-agents"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What Happens When A Real Estate Listing Agreement Expires?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What do you do when the real estate listing agreement expires? Here are the best action steps to take, from finding a top agent to getting a cash offer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/real-estate-listing-agreement-expires\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Happens When A Real Estate Listing Agreement Expires?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What do you do when the real estate listing agreement expires? 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Articles, guides, and advice from top agents all over the U.S.","email":"support@homelight.com","telephone":"(888) 688-0350","legalName":"HomeLight","foundingDate":"2012-01-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"201","maxValue":"500"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/869feec5efe38fe8ac7e66d93d8c8048","name":"Stacy Sare Cohen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a71ca05d77a0dfe50e2d1ee90aebbe9e82a548205bf1f5ec44b984d238e89b4d?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a71ca05d77a0dfe50e2d1ee90aebbe9e82a548205bf1f5ec44b984d238e89b4d?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Stacy Sare Cohen"},"description":"Stacy Sare Cohen is a seasoned content writer with a passion for real estate, home design, decor, and home improvement. 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