Showing Conditions - Hurry Up and Wait

Even people who are not currently in the market for a new home right now seem to have heard about the speed of the Denver and Boulder area markets. Lots of buyers, not nearly enough homes, even when you add in new construction. This can create a really stressful situation for buyers, especially first-timers.

My experience lately is this. A new home becomes active online and within hours most of the next three day showing slots are taken. Agents who think their clients might want to see the home are booking a window, sometimes 2 or 3 windows to try to find a convenient time for their clients, and then canceling the ones they don't want later. Frustrating for those of us trying to schedule an appointment, but I know that their first responsibility is to their buyer and not to me.

With COVID restrictions, showings are not supposed to overlap so not more than one party is in the house at the same time. So in order to accommodate the demand, listing agents are reducing the showing windows to 15 minutes. While that might be plenty of time for an agent to assess a property, it's not enough for most typical buyers to make such a huge investment decision. Often they even feel rushed by the next buyers hanging out on the porch, waiting for them to be done. It's also too easy to miss or be late for your showing when you only have 15 minutes. Get stuck by traffic or a train going from one house to another and your chance is gone.

A better solution would be to extend the offer deadline a few more days. Not only is it in the seller's best interests to have adequate market exposure, but the offers they end up with will be stronger as buyers get more time to examine the property and think about their terms. The argument against this that I've heard is that buyers who submit offers will then have to wait longer to get an answer back, potentially missing out on other opportunities. And I get this, I've had buyers ask if it was okay to put offers on more than one property at the same time, just in case. It does take a little planning and skill on the part of the buyer's agent to manage the offer timelines and figure out the possibilities of success but it can be done in good faith.

As agents, we always want to do the most and best we can for our clients. We also have a responsibility to set expectations and explain potential pitfalls of allowing the market to drag us along. If we know there is a best practice we can utilize, we should make the benefits of that clear so that our client gets on board. In a competitive fervor, people can lose sight of their own motivations and needs, but if the agents can hold the space well the outcomes will be better for all involved.

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I would love to help you with your real estate journey. 

Please contact me at 303-917-7143 or robbin@elevatedrealestate.com

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