The expectation that buyers or their agents should provide feedback after a home showing needs to end. It serves no purpose for the buyer, puts their negotiating position at risk, and ultimately does nothing to help the seller. Yet, some listing agents persistently push for it, treating it as a necessity rather than what it truly is—a relic of outdated real estate practices.
Let’s be clear: the only feedback that truly matters is whether the buyer submits an offer. Everything else is irrelevant.
Buyer Feedback Creates Unnecessary Risk
When a buyer tours a home, their thoughts and impressions are private. What they like, what they don’t like, and how the home compares to others they’ve seen is information that belongs to them. A seller has no right to that insight, nor should they expect it. Yet, listing agents frequently pressure buyer’s agents to share feedback as though it’s part of some unspoken code of cooperation.
It’s not. And it needs to stop.
Consider the risks: A buyer might initially express that a home “needs too much work” or that “it feels overpriced.” But after viewing more homes, they might realize that this home actually offers good value. If they then decide to make an offer, their original feedback has already prejudiced the seller. The seller may dismiss the offer outright or hold a grudge that negatively affects negotiations. The buyer is now at a disadvantage because their initial reaction—offered in the spirit of cooperation—has come back to haunt them.
Sellers Already Have the Information They Need
If a home is priced correctly for its condition and market, it will attract offers. If it sits for weeks without serious interest, that’s the only feedback a seller needs. The idea that buyers should provide additional comments to help the seller “understand” why their home isn’t selling is absurd. The market provides that data organically. If a home isn’t selling, it’s almost always due to one of three things: price, condition, or location. No amount of buyer feedback is going to change those fundamental truths.
Additionally, if a seller needs further validation that their home is priced appropriately, they should look at their competition. Are similar homes selling? Are buyers making offers on properties that are priced comparably? If the answer is yes, then the issue isn’t that buyers aren’t being helpful with feedback—it’s that the home itself isn’t compelling enough to generate offers.
The Pressure on Buyer’s Agents Is Unfair
Buyer’s agents are hired to represent their client’s best interests, not to act as unpaid consultants for the seller. Yet, many listing agents pressure them to provide detailed feedback after showings as though it’s a professional obligation. It’s not.
Pushing for feedback places buyer’s agents in an uncomfortable position. If they comply, they risk giving away their client’s negotiating power. If they refuse, they risk being labeled as uncooperative. Neither scenario is fair, and the entire practice needs to end.
A Shift in Perspective: Let the Market Speak
It’s time to move away from this outdated expectation. Listing agents should educate their sellers that the only feedback that matters is an offer. If no offers are coming in, it’s time to reassess the price, marketing strategy, or property condition—period.
Buyers should be free to explore homes without feeling obligated to share their private thoughts. Their opinions may evolve as they see more properties, and they should have the flexibility to adjust their perspective without being held to something they said in passing after a showing.
The demand for homebuyer feedback after showings is unnecessary, outdated, and potentially harmful. Sellers don’t need it, and buyers shouldn’t be asked to provide it. The market speaks for itself, and that’s all the feedback anyone needs.
It’s time for listing agents to stop pushing for post-showing feedback and start focusing on what truly matters—getting their clients’ homes sold.
