The first thing a seller wants to know is the feedback from the buyer after a showing.  Some sellers are patient, and others want it 5 minutes after the showing concludes.  We’d like to share some thoughts for sellers on interpreting buyer feedback from showings in hopes of explaining the process, so it makes better sense to sellers.

Interpreting Buyer Feedback From Showings

First, to all the agents showing properties out there, please provide feedback to the listing agent.  Sellers always want to know.  We know you are busy, and you might be showing 10 homes, so it’s hard to get back to each listing agent.  That’s why we make it easy for buyer agents to respond.

The Ellis Team uses a showing service to setup all showing appointments.  After the appointment has concluded, it emails each showing agent and asks them for feedback.  Here is an example of one of our surveys.  It is survey 7.

Showing Feedback Reports

These showing feedback reports get sent directly to our sellers.  Obviously, the best feed back is an offer.  We used to ask what the agent/buyer’s opinion was of the price.  Obviously, if they’re not making an offer, they didn’t like the price.  When a home is priced in a buyer’s wheelhouse, offers generally occur.  When the buyer feels a home is over-priced, they move on to better value homes.  There is no better feedback than the presence or absence of offers.

We no longer ask the buyer or agent’s opinion.  Many times, they would respond it is priced correctly, but no offer would come.  Perhaps they didn’t want to offend the seller.  Or they didn’t feel it was their job to educate the seller on pricing.  Either way, there was no offer, and the seller was left wondering.

One of the things a seller can appreciate is the buyer’s perception of the condition of the property.  Sometimes buyers will object to flooring, or the appliances, or maybe even the choice of paint colors.  If a seller sees a pattern developing, perhaps a change to the property is in order.  If I’s not something the sellers is prepared to tackle, a price change may be in order.

Showings are Like Dates

A home showing is a lot like a date.  The seller wants to know how it went, and if they were liked.  Sometimes the buyer will be honest and tell the seller, and sometimes they don’t want to hurt their feelings, so they stay silent.  Obviously, if you went on 10 dates and everybody objected to your haircut, you’d consider doing something different with your hair. Therefore, as agents we try to obtain feedback from the agent so the seller can assess the situation.  Surely the guy with the bad haircut would rather know why he’s being rejected rather than repeating the date over and over again like the movie Groundhog Day.

The Ellis Team has a form we share with our sellers.  It’s called Interpreting Feedback.  We have a list of the top 10 things buyers say about homes and explain what they really mean.  Do you think men and women hear things the same way?  When a man and woman are having a heated discussion and the woman answers, that’s fine, he might be in trouble.  And yet, he may have heard, that’s fine, she agrees with my position, and the argument is over.  He’ll find out later if it really was fine.

Similarly, when a buyer says, “They liked the house but bought another.”  What they really meant was “They found another home that was a better value or fit.”   When you learn the language of real estate, decisions become much easier.  It’s taken us over 4,000 successful transactions in Lee County to learn this language, and we’re ready to share it with you.

Shifting Market

In a shifting market, sellers and buyers need to learn to communicate better with each other.  Buyers want to buy, and sellers want to sell, and each side has fears about the process.  An experienced agent can make all the difference interpreting what the other is saying and help you to a successful closing.

Always call the Ellis Team at Keller Williams Realty. 239-489-4042  Ask for Sande for Brett Ext 4 if you’d like to sell.  Please visit www.LeeCountyOnline.com to search the MLS like a pro.  It’s Free, and you’ll love it.