Jennifer,  I agree with you that most buyers really aren't aware of what they really want.  I hear some agents say that if they have to show someone more than 10 homes then they think they aren't doing their job well enough.  I start off by showing 10 homes just to give them a taste of what's out there and to monitor their reactions to the homes as we see them.  I look at my job as helping a buyer figure out what they really want.  I have found no better way than to take them out to look at as many homes as possible.

Bravo, Tim, this is how I feel too. Have these 10-homes-or-fewer agents ever looked for a house themselves? Whenever I shop for a home, I want to see everything available and I change my focus all the time! Puh-lease... we are paid plenty of money to accomodate our buyers' shifting desires and moods.

I once worked with a buyer from Southern California who wanted to move to the hills in my area of Central California. They were referred to me by my wife so I was extra accommodating. I'd get calls that they were in town and wanted me to drive 30 minutes to show them a house. This happened more than once. We exchanged over 250 emails, saw countless properties, had numerous lunches, and 11 months later, they finally bought. Not in the mountains with acreage, but in my own city with a small lot. Not for the 325k they were preapproved for, but over 400k. What I learned was that buyers like any of us can have changing thoughts and desires that we as agents may not hear about. People can be very vague and yes some do lie. All in all I learned patience, perseverance, frustration and finally elation when I was finished with them. I also learned that all the qualifying questions may end up meaning nothing. Do them anyway as they may mean something. Prior to those folks, I had never shown any buyer more than 12 properties. Nor had I ever had a buyer for more than 1 month. Lessons learned. Of course I think we like to use the phrase "buyers are liars and sellers are yellers" maybe to make us feel as though any failure is theirs and not ours.

Bob Volanti Coldwell Banker Premier Real Estate

Fresno and Clovis, Ca

Good points -buyers are interesting- I try and read body language/non-verbal communication.  I believe it has a bit more emphasis -in order to do that you need to get with your buyer to develop a relationship.

What great posts!  It's amazing to me that agents complain about showing more than 10 houses to find the right one.  It's my job, and the compensation is good, to find my buyers a home that meets their needs and wants --- whether or not it fits the description of the one they said they wanted in our first meeting.  If a buyer gets into a house and isn't happy for any reason (my fault or not), it will reflect on my service. On the flip side, if my buyer is happy with their home and neighborhood, that will also reflect on my service and ultimately the number of referrals that I will receive from them down the road.

I would rather have a happy buyer that I had to show 200 houses in 10 months, than an unhappy buyer that I showed 4 houses in one day!