Buyer perspective

As we head into another “Buyer’s Market” in real estate, I would like to give you some insight into the Buyer’s perspective. I, having purchased millions in real estate investments and personal homes over the past 25 years, and also selling most of these properties, have some experience in this area. I also helped over 100 clients make their real estate dreams come true using my insight and knowledge of this topic.

We have so much going on right now in the economy, not just the real estate market to consider, but for now we will dive into the Buyer perspective and how knowing what Buyer’s want will deliver you the results you want as well.

Selling a property over the next few years will be much tougher than the past five years. So many agents have never even sold a property in a Buyer’s market. First, as we head into dipping sales prices, Buyer’s will inevitably sit on the fence for much longer than usual. Most buyer’s are not savvy in real estate, but want to be. They will take encouragement and advice from relatives, friends, and even neighbors; but are extremely skeptical of real estate agents and more-so, Sellers. As a Seller, you want to make sure you, as a Seller, embodies trust and appreciation and also extreme care for your house and in your negotiations with a buyer. You want to first make them feel comfortable in your house, and so when they actually deliver you an offer; your response in this market will be key to their reaction.

The actual home or property you are selling will need every detail attended to prior to listing and photographing it. I have personally made mistakes of listing a property before the renovation is complete, or even allowed a determined client to list his house with a ‘carpet credit’. This just shows the Seller is lazy and doesn’t care about the property, so the Buyer will want the credit plus some more off the price. So, getting your property immaculate is key. That can be another blog post, but once you have that, the next step is pricing. Unfortunately not many real estate agents are great at pricing for a Buyer’s market. As prices drop and you still want to sell before you lose even more equity, it is key to price it aggressively. Meaning, take into consideration what your goal is. How much do you as a Seller want to take to the bank from this property. What are you willing to accept, and if you don’t get that number will you not sell and maybe rent, or do you have to sell, so this number needs to be whatever you can get right now?

Keep in mind, your friends, neighbors, and relatives will give you advice, but you need to use common sense and consult your real estate agent (this is not necessarily a “REALTOR” - Realtor associations are a way to control agents and their listings to one platform. this can be another blog post). You real estate agent should give you deep insight into the current market along with much experience to come up with a strategic plan to get you the best results. This means, listing the home at the right TIME and at the right PRICE. Now, no-one can predict the market, but we are all working from the same playbook, we all have the same current market information, so we can predict what other people will do with this information.

This is not new information - to list at the right time and the right price; but what is important is to relay to agents and buyers out there the benefits of your home and the benefits of buying your home right now. It’s called Selling, and most agents haven’t had to do this. New agents will do stupid videos of themselves and the house and say this house is amazing! It does get attention for the agent, but I’m not sure it actually sells the house. My very first lesson, was never to overstate what you are offering. This leads to mistrust. For example, don’t say the house is amazing if it is not truly the most amazing house you have ever seen. Instead, say, “Amazing Price” or “Amazing Location.” Let’s also remember my four Ps in real estate - Product, Price, Place, Promotion. They all have to be given the same amount of attention when listing a property to achieve the best results. Also, you need to focus on the things you can control. Let’s say your location sucks. You bought a cookie cutter brand new and now it is ten years old in a high HOA community with 5 other homes on your block. Well, you can’t change the location. You can control the condition(product), price, and promotion. If you have a competitive advantage over the other five houses, you promote this heavily whether it is price or condition or both.

Buyer’s perception is another P. This perhaps is the most important P. I have done open houses and had guests compliment me on my selling style, my communication, my honesty, etc. but it still never sold the house right then and there. The presentation of the house and how the buyer’s perceive the value will sell the house. You want a buyer to come into the house and say, “Wow, this is much larger than in the photographs, or this looks so much better in person.” Great photography is key along with videos to get attention, but you don’t want to mislead Buyers into viewing the house only to be disappointed.

Okay, so to summarize how to adjust your selling proposition to a Buyer’s perspective is to know everything the Buyer wants and state your value for each one of these items.

Most Buyers do not want to renovate but they will pay for what they see as a home in great condition. Don't add - “carpet allowance, or credit for roof in your description” Either replace the roof or carpet or adjust your price to provide perceived value. Many sellers who have to sell, don’t have this kind of money to put into selling a house and they aren’t professional flippers. (It does help to have an agent that is also a professional flipper… just saying) So, the key is focus on what you can control, the cleanliness, the furniture/staging - your agent should help with this, curb appeal (cars parked in the driveway is a no-no), huge family portraits above the fireplace also a no-no, all your dog items while neat and tidy just show that you live there and the Buyer doesn’t. You want to make the Buyer feel like they can just bring all their stuff and move in tomorrow. That is how you get an offer. If the offer is not the price you wanted, don't get offended because your neighbor Joe sold his home for $50K more last year. Some people will get lucky and the right Buyer will be looking at the right time. It only takes one Buyer, but that perfect Buyer for your house may take 5 months and not 5 weeks.

Okay, let’s talk price for minute. The right price is pretty vague. I always provide an estimated list price, and then if it has been a few weeks, I will update the research and do my own analysis of market conditions, events, holidays, timing, etc. before providing a new list price. For example 2025 had a strange start. December and January were unusually slow, but then February inventory that hit the market went under contract right away. Then March hit, the economy, rates, annual projections, jobs reports, who knows; but sales dropped and so did prices. Understanding this, allowed us to sell our flip we listed in March. Unfortunately, we did accept less than we had hoped, but we still made a profit and that is what matters. For your personal home, it may not be about the profit. There are many factors affecting why people sell, so unless you financially cannot list your home less than a certain number, as a Seller you should always list a bit lower than what your agent even suggests. The statement has never been more true - “A home is only worth what a Buyer is willing otherwise pay for it.” So, if you list at $1M and your recent sales suggest you should list at $1.2M. Most likely, you will get a Buyer fast, above list price, with limited conditions to their offer. This might be what you want. However, if you list at $1.25M because you just remodeled your master bathroom and you feel as a Seller your home is worth it, yet your agent said to list it at $1.15M. You may be disappointed in the results and end up selling for less than $1.15M. Every 30 days the listing sits on the market, it gets stale. However, that doesn’t mean you should keep reducing the price. If it is priced well from the beginning, and the condition is great, then be patient and your Buyer will show up. Be prepared to work with any Buyer and be respectful of their position. They are scared of losing money, they are scared of taking on a big investment, and so there are a lot of emotions and financial decisions Buyers need to make to purchase a house these days. Sellers can alleviate some of these stressful decisions by providing solutions to a Buyer during the negotiation process. I have always been the best at creative solutions that are legal and benefit both parties. Some of these may be asking for commission discounts, or credits from the agents, or lease back scenarios, or including a new appliance paid by an agent or seller, etc. Whatever gets the Buyer over that perceived hurdle in order to make the value worth it and they proceed to closing.

I’m not sure real estate will ever truly be an online transaction as some AI news is predicting, as the emotions of buying and selling are real. If you have trouble buying a $200 pair of shoes, then imagine how hard it would be to buy something for $1M. Most Buyers, especially those with limited support systems need someone to help them navigate all the BS in the industry today. If your listing can shine through all the others, then you have a chance.

I’ve seen it all, so as a Listing Agent I often advise the Buyer agent on what to say or questions to ask their Buyer in order to understand what the real issue is, and vice-versa as a Buyer Agent, so we can all move onto closing which is what everyone wants. A Seller does not want to re-list a property after 30 days under contract. If that Buyer perspective shifts during the contract, they will terminate, and many times the Sellers are so surprised. I’m not. I can see it coming and try to head it off from the beginning and it usually works. Being attentive, and listening to everyone will help agents to preempt problems during the contract term. So, as a Seller, hire an agent that says even half of this when you meet with them, and not just give you some shiny book that shows how awesome their company is and their high market reach. Well, you aren’t going to sell your house for more just by hiring the most expensive agent. And you aren’t hiring the company, you are hiring the agent. In a team environment as well as a large company, that could be a great option so multiple agents can work on your listing, but if they are all working on multiple listings, how much time can they give to you. Are they focusing on your property? These agents, who are most agents, give away up to 50% of their commission to the team or company they work at. Hiring an independent agent who works directly for you as your personal real estate advisor will get you the best results every time. 2025 and 2026 is going to be a roller coaster! Are you ready for the ride?