Buyers Aren't Liars

In the residential real estate business there is a saying which goes back as least as long as I do: buyers are liars. I never liked that saying much. But there is an underlying grain of truth. Every broker who has been around the block has had at least a couple of experiences with a buyer who works with them for months, then buys something completely different from what they had been looking at, often with another broker whom they discovered online or just met at a party. So what I would say is that buyers are evolving. Priorities change during the search. Looking at property can bring the REAL wish list into sharper focus. Are space and layout ACTUALLY more important than address and location? Does prewar trump light and air? We, as agents, don’t know the answers to these questions at the beginning of the process, and often you, as the buyer, don’t fully know the answers either.

So both sides need to be vigilant. On our side, we need to pay attention to the many reactive cues our buyers give us when looking at property and in the all important chatting which takes place as we travel between appointments. If we don’t try to dominate the conversation, our buyers will tell us what they want in many small ways. A casual question asked several times about whether or not this property is in a “good building” lets us know that this is a concern. A buyer who walks immediately to the windows in every apartment clearly cares a lot about what is outside them. A note taker who opens every closet door and needs to walk through three times will negotiate very differently from a quick looker who knows within moments if he/she is interested and never stays anywhere more than four or five minutes. And for one the devil is in the details, while the other will probably choose based on big picture criteria.

And here’s what we ask of you, the buyer. First, listen to us. I know the Internet, StreeatEasy, Zillow, and Trulia give access to a lot of listing information (although a lot of it is wrong or out of date.) But access to information is not the same thing as deeply understanding the nuances of the marketplace. Second, confide in us. We have a fiduciary responsibility to you as your broker to keep the information you give us confidential. But we cannot operate without understanding your real goals, your real timetable, etc. And we cannot help you devise a strategy without having some sense of what you are willing to pay for the property you want to buy.

When it works (and if it isn’t working, you should change brokers), the broker/buyer relationship is both efficient and effective. We enjoy the satisfaction of seeing you settled in the right place at the right price. You feel secure that you have been heard, that your evolving priorities have been attended to, and that you have benefited from our expertise in both finding the property which gives you what you REALLY wanted (as opposed perhaps to what you originally THOUGHT you wanted) and paying the right price for it.

New York’s top agents share a number of traits, including extensive knowledge of the marketplace, negotiating expertise, and a primary focus on serving YOU. That’s what you should expect from us. What we hope for from you, and we know we have to earn it, are loyalty and trust. These gateways open into the successful relationship described in the paragraphs above. Then we won’t have to think that buyers aren’t liars, and more important you won’t be thinking that of us.