Should You Tell Sellers When Agents Are Sending an Offer?

In my real estate practice, I feel sellers prefer to be kept informed, even if something never happens. Because a Sacramento listing agent can certainly throw out a disclaimer. Like, listen, Mrs. Seller, don’t get all excited but this agent says he is sending an offer. In some ways, I know you want to hear everything, and in other ways, maybe not. So you let me know what you want to hear.

The problem with deciding to tell sellers when agents are sending an offer is the offer might never materialize. That is the downside. If the seller gets her hopes up because she hears an offer is forth-coming but never arrives, it can be disappointing. Managing seller reactions and maintaining client happiness in a transaction is an art.

Of course, I pretty much tell my sellers everything. Whether to tell sellers when agents are sending an offer depends on the situation. I can think of a few situations in which this news might not be welcome.  Not only that, but when it doesn’t materialize, often the buyer’s agents don’t inform the listing agent. Perhaps their thought process is the listing agent will figure it out when no offers shows up.

What they don’t realize, I imagine, is we don’t remember every buyer’s agent who says they are sending an offer. At least I do not. I figure I’ll get it or I won’t. But I do pass along the information to the sellers. 

Every so often, I will work with a seller who asks me to stop sending feedback after showings, too. Because the feedback tends to be redundant and it might not be pleasant to read. I guess I have the opposite problem of other agents if sellers ask me to stop sending them so much information. Would much rather over communicate than under communicate.

What do you think? Should we tell sellers when agents are sending an offer?