http://youtu.be/hwfpTyOPdpM?list=UUKo3K0Fpnq7-mDTXIDNt1Eg
(Excuse the distracted talking. I was watching for my clients.)
Over the years I have heard agents brag that they never show more than 10 homes to a client. I always sat in disbelief that they would think like this. In my nine years in real estate it has never occurred to me to do that not even when times were lean.
A few of the agents have said that they are so good at getting from the client what they want that it is easy. I understand that. In my first 6 months in real estate I had a buyer from the east coast tell me what they want and they flew out, looked at four gorgeous condos, and picked the one I thought they would. But oftentimes if you look at the criteria you had when you began the process to what was finally bought it is often quite different.
What most of them have said is that they will cut the buyers loose after 10 or 12 showings, or worse pressure them. Anyone who knows me or read much of what I have wrote knows that I see real estate as a service industry not a sales industry. These aren’t TVs and cars we’re selling. It seems that if an agent is pressuring someone to buy a home after a certain amount then it is about the agent, his time, his paycheck, and nothing to do with the client.
But I know there are agents out there saying, “But we gotta get paid.” True and in that vein who is more memorable, the agent that showed someone 10 homes or the one that showed 20, 30,50, or 70? A first-time home buyer was referred to my a previous client who was a first-time buyer. The referral said, “We came to you because we were told you were patient with newbies.” A fine compliment indeed.
6 thoughts on “Do Real Estate Agents Limit How Many Homes A Buyer Can Look At?”
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I applaud you for your mind set. I agree, agents should see themselves as being in the service industry vs. sales industry. Home shoppers and sellers are putting their trust in Realtors because they believe they are knowledgeable in real estate, and seek the skills you’ve studied. If they only wanted a sales person to buy or sell their next home, they would come to you simply to sign the sales agreement. This is not the case at all.
It’s kind of a tough issue. We looked at homes for 4 months. We thought we “knew” what we wanted, and to some extent we were right. However, we were also young and naive (I was 24 when I bought my house).
Some agents do well by listening to what the buyer wants, but I would say that many either aren’t listening or think they can “educate” someone into a different result. I guess in the end, the real question is whether or not you want long-term, referral-generating relationships or not. If not, go “sell” something else.
oh my – color me stupid – on Sunday – I showed 19 homes to a buyer that I have been working with for 3 years – all 19 were reverse living so that is double the stairs – my hips were killing me when I got home – but I would do it all over again if need be – thankfully we found the property to write up – now just to get it accepted 🙂
truly tough, but i’m thinking it’s quite as many as the buyer wants, but every property shown should fit to what they want
funny – I have been thinking the same thing – be more tansparent be me talk about the things I want to talk 🙂
Good luck on the house sale. Hope it goes better than your recent car episode.