Showing Etiquette Matters: There’s a Seller on the Other Side

Every time a seller leaves their home for a showing, they have one hope: this could be the buyer.

They clean the house, straighten everything up, pack up the kids, take the dog, adjust their schedule and leave their own home so someone else can walk through it. Sometimes they do that multiple times a day.

As buyer’s agents, we need to remember that there are people on the other side of that showing.

If your buyer cancels, tell the listing agent. If you’re running late, tell the listing agent. If your client decides halfway there that they no longer want to see the house, cancel the showing.

Don’t leave a seller sitting in a parking lot, driving around with their kids or killing an hour somewhere because they’re expecting you to show up.

It’s common courtesy, but it’s also professionalism.

And when we do show the home, our job should involve more than unlocking the door and following our clients from room to room.

We should be talking to them.

What do they love? What don’t they like? How do they feel about the condition? How does the price compare to the other homes they’ve seen? Is there something keeping them from making an offer? Is it something the seller could reasonably address?

Those conversations help us represent our buyers better, but appropriate feedback afterward can also help the seller.

“They weren’t interested” isn’t particularly useful.

If three buyers mention the same outdated flooring, that’s information. If multiple buyers like the house but believe the price doesn’t match the condition, that’s information. If everyone comments on an odor, deferred maintenance, a room that feels much smaller than the photos suggested or something else that affects their perception of value, the seller needs that feedback.

Patterns matter.

Good feedback allows the listing agent to have a more informed conversation with the seller about price, condition, presentation and potential improvements.

Of course, buyer representation comes first. We should never disclose confidential information, motivation, negotiating strategy or anything that could weaken our client’s position. Professional feedback does not mean negotiating against your buyer.

It means being a professional.

There are a lot of small things we can do to make showings more productive and respectful. Communicate when plans change. Show up when you say you’re going to show up. Pay attention while you’re in the home. Talk with your buyers. Provide useful feedback afterward.

Because every time we schedule a showing, a seller is rearranging a piece of their life for us.

Their time matters too.