Do you think your buyers have unrealistic expectations about the homes they’re seeing because of TV shows about housing, fixing up, and flipping?

The answer is absolutely yes.

In fact, 73% of homebuyers have unrealistic expectations based on their TV viewing habits.

So, what can we do about it? We can either do nothing and have them feel disappointed every time they walk into a house, or we can reset their expectations and shift their mindset. Here’s how we do it.

Many of us are already using buyer questionnaires before meeting with clients—sent via text, JotForm, or Google Forms. These questionnaires help us understand their needs. One useful question to add could be:

"Do you watch reality TV about housing? If so, what are your favorite shows?"

When you get this feedback, it gives you insight and lets you address the issue during your first meeting.

For example, in your buyer presentation, you might say:

"Hey, I noticed you like to watch reality TV about housing. That’s great—...

Here's something we should all be doing with a seller at the beginning of our relationship:

When we take that listing, we should be resetting expectations on the number of live showings that will occur.

Last year, when we took a listing, we'd have 20, 30, 40, 50 showings in the first week. Today, that number maybe two or three or four or five. It will not be the same as it was last year at the same time.

So how do we reset this expectation?

One thing we need to talk about with the seller is the way the average buyer looks at homes. So last year in 2021, the NAR measured this and they found that buyers, on average, that purchased a home, looked at homes for eight weeks. And during that eight week period of time, they viewed eight homes. But of the eight homes they looked at, they looked at three virtually. And in the buyer's mind, that was a showing.

So we need to educate our sellers about what people consider to be a showing today. And then when we're talking to them...