Quick answer: If your Fairfax County home was listed and didn’t sell, the house is almost never the problem. The price, the preparation, the photos, or the marketing was. I’m David Mount, a REALTOR with The Redux Group of eXp Realty, and I relist homes that expired or were withdrawn with another agent. Two recent examples: a Riverside Estates single-family home in Alexandria that sat with another agent the year before went under contract in 14 days at a higher price than the first listing, and a Newington Forest townhouse in Springfield that Ryan and Laura had first listed with a family friend went under contract in one week after we re-prepped and relaunched it. Call or text me at 571-946-8418 for a no-pressure second opinion on your home.
Last reviewed and updated: October 10, 2026
Why do homes in Fairfax County fail to sell the first time?
In my 12-plus years and 200-plus closings across Northern Virginia, an expired or withdrawn listing almost always traces back to one of four causes:
- The price was set for the seller, not the market. A list price that is even 3 to 5 percent high in Fairfax County pushes the home out of the search brackets buyers actually use, and the first two weeks of attention never come back on their own.
- The home wasn’t prepared. Dated paint, worn carpet, cluttered rooms, and deferred repairs show up in every photo and every showing. Buyers discount a home far more than the fix would have cost.
- The presentation was amateur. Phone photos, no floor plan, no video, a thin description. Most buyers decide whether to tour from the listing photos alone.
- Nobody worked the listing. A home that goes live and then waits for the MLS to do the work is a home that waits. Buyer-agent outreach, open houses, targeted ads, and weekly feedback calls are what keep a listing alive after the first weekend.
The good news: all four are fixable, and a home that has been off the market for a few months comes back to buyers as a fresh listing, not a stale one.
What does relisting with a new agent actually involve?
When a seller who already tried once calls me, I do not recycle the old listing. I treat it as a brand-new launch:
- Honest diagnosis first. I pull the old listing’s history, days on market, showing count, and buyer feedback, and I tell you plainly what went wrong. If you are the kind of seller who wants to hear it straight, we will work well together.
- A reset price with evidence. New comps, a fresh look at competing listings, and a number designed to draw multiple buyers in the first week rather than one lowball after two months.
- A prep plan that pays for itself. Paint, carpet, kitchen and bath hardware, lighting, and decluttering are the highest-return fixes in Virginia. I walk the house with you and rank what to do and what to skip. See my guide to pre-sale improvements that add value in Virginia.
- Professional photography, floor plan, and video every time. No exceptions. This is the single biggest difference between a listing that gets toured and one that gets scrolled past.
- A relaunch, not a relist. New photos, new description, a new MLS entry where the rules allow, a coming-soon window to build showing demand, and direct outreach to the buyer agents who have been active in your neighborhood.
- Weekly reporting. You hear from me every week with showing numbers, feedback, and what we are adjusting.
Riverside Estates, Alexandria: sold in 14 days after a failed listing the year before
My clients owned a single-family home in the Riverside Estates subdivision of Alexandria, in Fairfax County. They had listed it with another agent the year before, and it never sold. By the time they reached out to me in 2023, they were relocating out of state and needed the sale to actually happen this time.
We started over. I rebuilt the pricing from scratch, reworked how the home was presented, and relaunched it to buyers as a fresh listing. It went under contract in 14 days, at a price higher than the first agent had been asking, and we closed on schedule so my clients could make their move.
The lesson: the house was fine. It needed a different strategy and a real relaunch.
Newington Forest, Springfield: a family friend’s listing fixed and sold in one week
In 2020, Ryan and Laura, a growing family in the Newington Forest subdivision of Springfield, in Fairfax County, needed to sell their two-bedroom townhouse and move up to more space. They had first listed with a family friend who did not hire a professional photographer, so the listing presentation never did the home justice and it did not sell.
They brought me in to advise on house prep and remarket the property. We prepared the home properly, brought in professional photography, and relaunched. It went under contract within a week.
Because they were also buying, I timed their purchase in Burke so the sale and the move-up closing lined up and they never had to move twice. That is the part most sellers worry about most, and it is a solvable problem. See how I handle selling and buying at the same time in Northern Virginia.
“We had had a previous agent before that wasn’t selling our home, not to mention uncommunicative. We hired David and he sold it in less than 5 days and we turned around and bought a dream home not long after. He took what was a highly stressful time and made it feel seamless and easy.”
Laura Gallimore, Zillow review, sold a townhouse in Springfield, VA in 2020
Which Fairfax County communities does this apply to?
I relist homes across Fairfax County, including Alexandria (Fairfax County addresses), Springfield, Burke, Fairfax, Annandale, Centreville, Vienna, Oakton, Herndon, Reston, McLean, Great Falls, Fairfax Station, Clifton, and Lorton. Townhouses and single-family homes are my focus. I grew up in Burke, went to Lake Braddock, and have lived in Springfield, Fairfax, and Herndon, so I know these neighborhoods as a local, not from a map.
See what I’ve sold on my sold listings page, and read my full guides to selling a home in Fairfax County and selling a home in Alexandria.
Frequently asked questions about relisting a home that didn’t sell
My Fairfax County home expired with another agent. Can I relist it right away?
Usually yes. Once your listing agreement has expired or been cancelled, you are free to hire a new agent. If you withdrew the listing early, check the agreement for a protection period that may still owe the first agent a commission on certain buyers. I review the paperwork with you before we relaunch so there are no surprises.
Will buyers see that my home was listed before?
Buyer agents can see the listing history in the MLS, and sites like Zillow show days on market. That is exactly why a relist has to look and feel different: new price, new photos, new description, and a fresh launch. When the relaunch is done right, buyers treat it as a new opportunity, and the prior history becomes a footnote.
How long should I wait before relisting?
There is no required waiting period in Virginia. What matters is that you use the time off market to fix what caused the first failure. For most of my relist clients that is two to four weeks of prep: paint, carpet, hardware, decluttering, repairs, then photography. Listing again too fast with the same problems just resets the clock on the same result.
Should I lower my price when I relist?
Not automatically. In the Riverside Estates sale above, we relisted higher than the first agent’s price and still went under contract in 14 days, because the preparation and marketing finally matched the home. Price is one lever, not the only one. I build the new price from current comps and competing listings, not from the old list price minus a guess.
What if my first agent was a friend or family member?
This happens more than you would think, and it is uncomfortable. Ryan and Laura, the Newington Forest sellers above, were in that spot. I handle the handoff professionally and quietly: the prior agent gets a courteous notice, you get a clean relaunch, and your relationship stays intact. My job is to sell the house, not to criticize the last attempt.
Do you relist townhouses as well as single-family homes?
Yes. Both of the examples on this page are good illustrations: a single-family home in Riverside Estates and a two-bedroom townhouse in Newington Forest. Condos are not my focus.
I’m relocating and the home has to sell this time. Can you work on a deadline?
Yes. Relocating sellers are a large part of my business, including military PCS moves. The Riverside Estates clients were moving out of state, and the plan was built backward from their move date. Tell me your date and I will tell you honestly whether it is realistic.
What does it cost to relist with you?
I offer several listing fee options, and the right one depends on how much marketing, staging, and preparation support you want behind the relaunch. At our first meeting I walk you through each level, what it includes, and what I would recommend for your home given why it did not sell the first time. Professional photography, floor plans, and video are part of every level, not an add-on. The prep work itself (paint, carpet, hardware) is yours to choose, and I rank it by return so you spend only where it pays.
Get a second opinion on your Fairfax County home
If your home was listed and didn’t sell, let’s talk through what happened and what a relaunch would look like. No pressure and no obligation.
Call or text me at 571-946-8418, email david.mount@thereduxgroup.com, or send me a message here.
David Mount, REALTOR, CPRES, MRP
The Redux Group of eXp Realty
NVAR Platinum Top Producer