Expired listing
From 365 Days on Market to a Cash Contract in 19 Days
Short-term-rental approved condo · Southern Utah
A short-term-rental approved condo sat through two agents and 365 cumulative days on market. A repositioned buyer message, professional marketing and a competitive relaunch price produced two offers from four showings and a cash contract in 19 days.
Before
Previous cumulative market time: 365 days. Original asking price: $400,000. Final asking price before expiration: $375,000. Two previous agents. Most recent listing expired after 168 days.
After
Relaunch price: $325,000. 4 showings. 2 offers. Under contract in 19 days. Sold for $315,000 cash. No seller concessions. Inspection waived. No appraisal contingency.
The situation
The owners originally purchased this Southern Utah condo expecting to use it themselves while living nearby. After moving farther away, that changed. They no longer wanted the property and decided it was time to sell. By the time I became their agent, the condo had already been through multiple attempts to sell. The first agent was a friend of the sellers. After that listing failed, they hired another agent. The most recent listing started at $400,000, was eventually reduced to $375,000, and expired after 168 days. The MLS showed 365 cumulative days on market, reflecting the property's earlier listing history as well. I had contacted the owners after the first listing expired, but they chose another agent. When that listing expired too, I reached out again and did not hear back. Then, unexpectedly, they contacted me. At that point their objective was very clear: they wanted the property sold quickly.
The previous strategy
The previous marketing leaned heavily into the nightly-rental angle, describing the condo largely as a vacation property surrounded by Southern Utah recreation. The problem was that if buyers viewed the property primarily as a short-term-rental investment, they were likely to judge it by its rental economics. And those economics were not the strongest reason to own it. The pricing strategy also stayed anchored to the previous asking price rather than to what buyers were actually responding to.
The diagnosis
The condo was approved for short-term rentals, but that was not necessarily the advantage it once appeared to be. Short-term-rental properties were facing a more difficult resale environment, and this particular unit was producing very little profit as an STR. There was another complication: owners could not freely choose their own property-management company. That meant buyers evaluating the property primarily as an investment had legitimate economic concerns. The listing was being judged on its weakest attribute.
What changed
Instead of asking "Why should an investor buy this short-term rental?" we focused on "Why would someone want to own this property?" The new marketing emphasized benefits that extended far beyond rental income: top-floor location, golf-course views, mountain and valley views, fully furnished interior, covered balcony, three nearby pools, hot tub, pickleball courts, clubhouse and fitness center, golf and restaurant owner benefits, vacation-home and seasonal-home potential, and the flexibility to rent the property when the owner was not using it. The short-term-rental approval was still disclosed and remained a benefit. It just stopped being the entire sales pitch. The MLS remarks for the relaunch positioned the condo as a vacation retreat, seasonal escape, or personal residence with the option to generate rental income while away. On price, the sellers had already experienced nearly a year of market exposure and did not want another six months of waiting. Based on comparable sales and current competition, we positioned the property aggressively at $325,000 — deliberately the lowest-priced option in the complex so buyers had a compelling reason to choose their unit. After their previous experience, the sellers understood that repeating the same pricing strategy was unlikely to produce a different result. The new campaign included professional photography, a Zillow strategy with Zillow Showcase, social media promotion, The Ames Team's marketing network, direct agent outreach and completely rewritten property messaging. I also placed marketing flyers inside the condo so short-term-rental guests would know the property was available for purchase. Rental-income information was made available to serious prospective buyers, but it was not the centerpiece of the public marketing.
How buyers responded
The difference in response was significant. The relaunch generated 4 showings, and those four showings produced 2 offers. One of those buyers was represented by another agent and found the property through the MLS. That buyer submitted a $315,000 cash offer. Rather than trying to force the buyer higher and potentially risk the transaction, we focused negotiation on closing dates and the overall certainty of the sale. A cash transaction removed the financing and appraisal uncertainty of a financed purchase, and this buyer was prepared to close quickly.
The result
The buyer did not request seller concessions and chose not to conduct an inspection. There were no repair negotiations and no appraisal contingency to work through. The MLS records the property as going under contract after 19 days and closing for $315,000 cash with no seller concessions. After approximately a year of cumulative exposure under previous listings, the sellers finally had the certainty they wanted. We did not make major physical changes to the property. We changed the strategy: repositioned the property away from an investment-only message, used professional marketing and Zillow Showcase, priced competitively for the current market, and let the market confirm the strategy.
What this means for other sellers
When a property does not sell, more time is not always the answer. Sometimes the market is already providing the answer. For this property, the solution required accepting the realities of a changing short-term-rental market, pricing where buyers would respond, and marketing the property for all of the reasons someone might want to own it — not just its rental potential. If a property has been listed with more than one agent without selling, changing agents alone does not solve the problem when the strategy stays the same. A successful relaunch may require a different price, a different buyer message, stronger online presentation, or a more realistic understanding of what today's buyers are responding to.
Published with the seller's permission. Results vary by property, price point, condition and market conditions. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Educational information only — not financial, tax, investment or legal advice.