As we move into 2026, we’re seeing more Sellers having to face selling an expired listing in Colorado Springs. There are more Expired listings than we’ve seen in years. If you’ve been on the market for months without an offer, you might be feeling frustrated, but there is a classic real estate truism that explains exactly why your house might sell the moment you switch gears.

The Queen Bee and the Oddity of Relisting

When this oddity first happened to me, I was very excited. A Seller called and told me he had fired his real estate agent and wanted to hire me. He wanted someone who knew the area and wanted to know why his house hadn’t sold after six months.

Running a market analysis, I found his home was about $25,000 overpriced for the current market. Sometimes, a successful sale is just about the right strategy at the right time. He graciously accepted my recommendation for a minor price adjustment, and the market responded almost instantly. Within forty-eight hours, we secured a full-price offer, a win that made me feel like the Queen Bee.

The second time it happened, I told a Seller his house was actually underpriced. Sure enough, within the week, we had an offer. When it happened a third time, I mentioned to a veteran colleague how interesting it was that houses sold the moment they changed Realtors.

She looked at me like the newbie I was as another truism of real estate passed her lips:

“You want to be their first love, their second wife, and their third Realtor.”

The initial marketing may have been the issue, but simply put, by the second or third time around, a Seller starts listening more closely.

Lifting the Weight of Expired Embarrassment

The fact of the matter is, there is a certain degree of embarrassment when your home hasn’t sold. You’ve put so much effort into it, and everyone you know knows it’s on the market. For some reason, we tend to internalize that, as if someone not choosing your home is somehow a reflection of you.

It isn’t. Often, it’s simply a case of the right story not reaching the right eyes. You have not failed because your home didn’t sell the first time. Data shows we have a record number of expired listings as we begin 2026. That’s where the Third Realtor Standard begins: by lifting that weight off your shoulders and looking at the data with fresh, expert eyes.

It’s hard to relist a home after it’s Expired. You don’t want to go through the cleaning and the inconvenient showings again. But there’s light at the end of the tunnel in relaunching your home in this 2026 market.

Why 2026 is the Year of the Third Realtor

The latest data from Keeping Current Matters proves that if your listing expired, you are actually in a position of major opportunity:

• Record High Expireds: The first week of 2026 saw 185,000 listings expire. The change you need may be strategy, not price
• A Better Success Rate: Research shows over 54% of owners who switch agents sell successfully. Only 36% who stay with same agent reach the finish line.
• Faster Results: On average, switching agents helps you sell 15 days faster (74 days vs. 89 days).
• Unsold Inventory: Of the 2.4 million listings that expired at the end of 2025, 1.3 million (53%) still haven’t relisted.
• The 2026 Outlook: While prices are expected to rise, affordability is set to improve modestly in 2026, making now a great time for a fresh start.

Is your home ready for a relaunch?

Don’t let your journey be over. You’ve just reached the Third Realtor stage where the magic happens. Let me put fresh eyes on your marketing strategy. Whether you’re looking for your second or fourth Realtor, sometimes it just takes a change to breathe new life into a stale listing. Contact me at (719) 460-7570 or Mimi@MimiFoster.com for a free audit of your previous listing.

Originally published in 2011: fully updated for the 2026 Colorado Springs real estate market.