Why Buyer Feedback From a Sacramento Agent is Crucial

An agent who sells real estate in some other state said that he doesn’t “waste time” anymore responding to agent requests for feedback. His position is if an agent didn’t know enough about his marketplace or his listing, it was not that agent’s job nor anybody else’s job to educate the guy. You know, that kind of thinking seems sort of narrow minded to me. I’m glad he doesn’t sell real estate in Sacramento.

Agent feedback is often crucial on so many levels. Take for example the seller who thinks her home is worth more than it is actually worth. Watching days on market accrue might mean little to the seller. The seller might point her finger at the listing agent and demand to know why the agent isn’t doing more to market her home, when the real problem is the sales price is too danged high. Well, agent feedback, email after email after email, filled with buyer’s agents all saying the same thing speaks volumes.

Sometimes, an agent will point out a defect that nobody else can put a finger on. The listing agent might suspect there is something odd about the home, but neither she nor the seller can readily identify it. Not every person looks at a home in an identical manner. Take pet owners, for example. We don’t often notice smells from our own pets, but a person who doesn’t own a pet, bingo, they’ll immediately notice a scent.

Other times an agent might tell me that it was beginning to rain, so she closed a window. I can pass on that information to let the seller know we are looking out for her. It’s not just me, it’s my coworkers, the agents with whom I am proud to associate. We can all make each other look good and watch out for each other.

My clients appreciate the fact that I send them comments from agents who have showed their home. Is it too much to ask a buyer’s agent to share her buyer’s thoughts with a fellow agent? Especially when a seller has gone that extra step and allowed strangers into her home via a lockbox while she was at work. Lockboxes are a convenience for buyer’s agents, and sellers don’t have to utilize them.

I always try to provide buyer feedback to a listing agent if I am asked for an opinion. It only takes a second to click “reply” and type a line or two. I figure it’s a small thing, and it can mean so much to a listing agent. We’re all in this business together. No agent is an island, and I don’t care how successful she is. I hope the agent who refuses to give buyer feedback never finds himself in the position of listing a home.