What is the difference between an expired, cancelled and withdrawn listing?

Expired means the listing agreement's term ran out. Cancelled means the owner and the brokerage ended it early, by agreement. Withdrawn means the home is off the market and the listing agreement is usually still in force. You can call expired and cancelled listings once they have ended. Never solicit a withdrawn listing while its agreement is in force.

Drafted with AI by the 10before10 team, reviewed and approved by Grant Freer and Gia Freer, licensed Florida real estate brokers. Updated October 24, 2026. También en español.

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Three statuses, three situations

Agents use these three words like they mean the same thing. They do not, and the difference changes what you are allowed to say and what the owner is likely feeling when you say it.

Expired means the listing agreement ran its full term and nobody renewed it. The home did not sell within the time the owner and the brokerage agreed to, and the contract simply ended. In every US state, an expired listing may be contacted once the agreement has ended.

Cancelled means the owner and the brokerage agreed to end the agreement before its term was up. Something happened before the clock ran out: a falling-out, a change of plans, a decision one side or both wanted to make early. A cancelled listing may also be contacted once the agreement has ended, and the call is nearly the same as an expired call.

The difference is the reason, and that the owner made an active decision, which deserves respect rather than a script.

Withdrawn means the home has been taken off the market and the listing agreement usually stays in force until it expires or is released in writing. A withdrawn listing may not be solicited while it remains under agreement. This is the status that trips agents up, because the sign is down and the home looks available.

It often is not.

MLS status names and the rules behind them vary by board. Read your MLS's definition before you make a single call from an expired or cancelled list. If you belong to a professional association, its code of ethics may also govern this point.

If you practice in Connecticut, your state requires the owner's consent before an unsolicited sales call, so these conversations are built around calls the owner asked for rather than cold outreach.

What to say

These are examples in plain words, not lines to memorize. Say them the way you actually talk, and match the owner's pace.

"Hi, this is your name, a licensed agent with your brokerage. I saw your listing on Birch ended and I understand it was cancelled rather than running out. Can I ask what happened?"

This opener does two things at once, and the rest of the call follows the first call to an expired listing. It names the status honestly instead of pretending you do not know the history, and it hands the owner the floor before you ask for anything. An owner who cancelled usually has a specific story, and the story tells you what kind of call this is.

"And what's changed since then?"

The first answer to "what happened" is rarely the whole picture. A falling-out with the last agent is a different conversation from a change of plans, and this second question finds out which one you are actually having. Wait for the answer before you say anything about yourself.

Some owners answer the first question with a version of "we cancelled because we're done with agents." There are at least two honest ways to take that.

"That's fair. Can I ask what the agent did, or didn't do, that made you feel that way?"

This route treats the complaint as information instead of an objection to overcome. It also tells you, specifically, what not to repeat.

"Understood. Would it help to just look at what's changed in the market since then, no commitment either way?"

This route offers something small and useful instead of arguing the point. An owner who is done with agents in general is not necessarily done with this conversation, and a low-stakes offer lets them find that out on their own terms.

If you discover mid-call that the listing is not cancelled, that it is still withdrawn and under agreement, stop. Say something simple: "I'm sorry, I had this listed differently. It looks like your agreement is still active, so I shouldn't be calling.

I'll take you off my list." End the call. Do not keep talking to see if the owner will "clarify" their way into an exception.

What not to do

Do not treat a cancelled listing like an expired one without asking a single question first. The agreement ending early means something happened, and skipping past it reads as not listening, even if your pitch is good.

Do not guess at status from a stale export and dial anyway. Pull the current status from your MLS before the call, not after the owner tells you. "The sign's still up" or "I thought it expired" is not a defense if the agreement is still active.

Do not argue with an owner who says they are done with agents. Arguing confirms the complaint. Ask what happened instead, or offer something small and specific, and let the owner decide if the conversation continues.

Do not keep a withdrawn number on your call list "just in case." If you learn it is withdrawn, remove it immediately. A second accidental call is not accidental anymore.

How to practice it

Have a colleague play an owner whose listing was cancelled, opening with "Can you tell me why you're calling, we already shelved the whole plan?" Your job in order: name the status honestly, ask what happened, ask what has changed since, and choose one of the two routes for "we're done with agents" based on the answer you get. Run it five times: once where the owner blames the last agent, once where it was a change of plans, once where the owner reveals mid-call that the home is actually withdrawn and still under agreement, once where a spouse was the real decision maker and wasn't on the call, and once where the owner is short and wants the call over fast.

On the withdrawn version, the habit 10before10™'s scorecard listens for on this drill is whether you stop immediately, apologize once, and end the call without trying to keep it going.

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