Realtors Who Like the Home More Than Their Client
Amongst the (many) problems with showing feedback forms — what Buyers’ agents are immediately bombarded with after showing a “For Sale” home — is that the form is really asking for two different things, from two different people.
Question #1: “did the Buyer have any interest in the home, and if not, what are their specific objections?
Obviously, the only one qualified to answer that is . . . the Buyer.
Constructive Criticism
However, the feedback form invariably contains a second set of (more objective) questions about the home.
So, Sellers (and their agents) are understandably eager to know if the home looks well-staged and otherwise showed well; whether the marketing material (online and print) is flattering; if something is “off,” and if so, what it is and how it might be corrected; and most important of all . . . whether the house is priced right.
Often, the person best-qualified to answer the second set of questions isn’t the prospective Buyer — it’s their agent.
That’s especially the case when the agent is experienced, has a good eye, and knows the immediate area well.
Caveats & Catch-22’s; “The House is a STEAL at That Price!” (Huh?)
The catch getting good feedback from such a plugged-in agent?
If their client has interest, they’re hardly going to divulge what they think the home is really worth.
Ditto for providing any feedback that potentially makes the home more appealing to other Buyers, possibly increasing competition for the home.
Finally, it’s simply the case that giving good, constructive feedback is time-consuming.
A busy Buyer’s agent at the height of the Spring market might show 30-40 homes in a week.
If a Buyer’s agent spends an extra five minutes during each showing taking notes — an absolute must if they’re to keep track of a few dozen houses 2-3 days later — then spends 5 minutes completing each feedback form . . . that’s an extra six hours of work.
At the end of a 60-70 hour week (if it looks like the agent hastily filled out a zillion feedback forms at midnight — it’s probably because they did).
Good Realtor Karma
So, why do Buyers’ agents bother to give good showing feedback at all?
Many don’t.
Instead, they simply offer the most banal generalities about each home they showed — at least ones that didn’t interest their client — then click “submit” (if their client does have interest, they may use the form strategically, laying the groundwork for a possible offer).
Which leaves Buyers’ agents who don’t have a vested interest, yet are able and willing to give good, candid feedback.
In my experience, such agents do so out of professional (and personal) courtesy, especially towards their colleagues.
It can be hard to be objective about your own listings, especially as time goes on.
Candidly assessing colleagues’ listings is good karma — and increases the odds they’ll do the same for yours.
P.S.: Personally, I don’t think it’s ever appropriate to use the showing feedback form to trash a home.
Even if it deserves it.
When the home is truly a disaster, I’ll simply offer a (genuine if succinct) “not a good fit” for my client, and move on.
At the other extreme, occasionally I’ll have a fussy or hypercritical Buyer client (imagine!) whose take on the home seems unduly harsh.
When that’s the case, I’ll meld the client’s negatives with a positive (or two) of my own, just to be a little encouraging.
See also, “The Best Kind of Showing Feedback”; “The Positive Uses of Buyer Feedback“; “Buyer Feedback: ‘Win, Place, or Show”; “Customized’ Buyer Feedback Forms“; and “Complete Showing Feedback Form, Get Miles??”
And also: “Knowing When to Flush Negative Feedback”; “Showing Feedback: Outlier or Mainstream?“; and “The “My-Client-Didn’t-Like-It-Stop-Bugging-Me’ Showing Feedback.”
