Vendor gave you a selling date? When to follow up

You're in the car outside an appraisal, typing in the date that could cost you the listing.

"The lease is up on 15 July. Not before then."

You set the follow-up for 15 July. On the day, you ring. "Oh, we signed with Jo last month. She rang in May."

You did what the diary said. That was the problem.

Her date isn't the day she chooses an agent

When a vendor gives you a date, she's usually telling you when the house comes free. Tenants out, a clean, a coat of paint, photos, then live.

She counts back from that date. The agent gets picked somewhere in that count, well before the board goes up.

You count forward to it.

"Not before then" said when she'd list. It never said when she'd start choosing. That day isn't in your notes, because she never said it. You've got to work it out.

Why it matters more this spring

Cotality's October Housing Chart Pack came out on 15 October 2026. It counted 36,440 new listings in the four weeks to 11 October. That's 11.9 per cent below the five-year average. In Cotality's words, the usual September lift in listings has been weak.

Our read: with fewer listings to go round, a vendor who's already set a date may hear from more agents before it. The one who rings first, with her own words, has the better conversation.

How to find the vendors who already told you when

Block one evening. You only do the reading once.

Pull every appraisal from the last 18 months that didn't list. Read each note for one thing: did she give you a time?

Some notes record a feeling. Keen. Warm. Very motivated. Those don't expire.

Others record when. A date, or an event. Once the lease is up. After the bathroom's done. Once we've found our next place. Those are the ones to work first.

If your notes are thin, start with the appraisals from the last six months. They're freshest.

When to set the follow-up

Count back from each date the way she would. Start with two months before it, and move the follow-up there.

Two months isn't a law. It's a starting point that leaves room for her to talk to you before she's chosen. A vacant house that needs work runs on a longer count than one that's ready to photograph.

If she gave you an event with no date, the follow-up is a question that dates it.

• "When's the builder due to finish?"
• "Have you found somewhere yet?"

What to text, and what not to

Put your name up front, because she may not have your number saved. Quote her back.

"Hi Sarah, it's Tom. In June you said you'd look again once the bathroom was done in November. Still on track?"

Not this one:

"Hi Sarah, just touching base to see if you're still thinking of selling. Let me know."

The first one quotes her. The second could go to anyone.

If she answers, ring her and open with her words. "You said once the bathroom's done. How's the builder going?"

If she's signed with someone, say congratulations and mean it. Then move to the next note.

For more on reopening appraisals that have gone quiet, see how to follow up past appraisals that went quiet. For what to say at the appraisal itself when a vendor isn't ready, see what to say when a vendor isn't ready to sell.

The answer you'll hear before Christmas

"After Christmas" sounds like a date. It isn't one yet. Ask one more question.

"Straight after New Year, or once school's back?"

Count back two months from her answer. Straight after New Year means a call in early November.

Sources

• Cotality, "Monthly Housing Chart Pack - October 2026", published 15 October 2026, cotality.com