GROW WITH LIBERTAS & EXP REALTY
By Tim & Julie Harris · November 5, 2026
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Your buyer stands in the kitchen of an open house and says, “We’re just looking. We’ll probably wait until spring.” Most agents hand over a card and say, “Call me when you’re ready.”
Here’s the truth: “just looking” usually means “nobody has shown me what’s changed.” This fall and winter, buyers have more choices, more room to negotiate and builders who want to deal.
Buyers have more negotiating power than they’ve had in over a decade
Redfin reported on October 29 that there are “hundreds of thousands more home sellers than buyers nationwide,” giving buyers “more negotiating power than they’ve had in over a decade.”
Your fence-sitters have been waiting for a better moment, and for a lot of them, this is it.
You have more room to negotiate than buyers have had in years. Let’s sit down for 30 minutes, and I’ll show you what that means for you.
Builders have finished homes, and more of them are under $400,000
51% of new homes sold in September went for under $400,000, up from 46% a year ago, and builders still have 111,000 finished homes for sale, Real Estate News reported from Census data.
A finished home is a builder’s most expensive problem, so builders are cutting prices and buying down rates to move them. Ask the three biggest builders in your area:
Which finished homes do you most want to close by year-end, and what will you do for my buyer?
Rates fell to their lowest level of October
Freddie Mac’s 30-year average dropped to 7.24% on October 29, reaching its lowest level of October.
It’s a reason for buyers to take another look, and a reason for you to call.
Rates came down again recently. Can we get you 15 minutes with my lender to update your numbers?
Run the buyer consultation, and turn “just looking” into “let’s write it”
A showing is not a consultation. In a stranger’s living room, you’re a tour guide. At a table with a plan, you’re their agent.
Step 1: Book a consultation, not a showing. Every new buyer starts with a 30-minute sit-down. That’s your new minimum standard.
Before we see a single house, let’s sit down for 30 minutes. I’ll show you what’s changed, what you can afford and how I’ll find the right home. Does Tuesday or Wednesday work better?
Step 2: Fully pre-qualify the buyer.
“Do you have to buy, or want to buy?”
“On a scale of 1 to 10, how ready are you to buy in the next 90 days?”
“What monthly payment feels comfortable?”
“What would stop you from buying, even if we found the right house?” That’s the real objection. Get it now.
Step 3: Deliver the “what’s changed since you last looked” script.
Can I tell you what’s changed since you last looked? Three things. You have more choices, so you don’t have to overpay in a weekend. You have room to negotiate. Here’s how many sellers in your price range have cut their prices. And builders want to deal. So the question isn’t whether it’s a good market. It’s whether you’re ready to take advantage of it.
Bring your MLS numbers for their price range: list-to-sale ratio, price cuts and days on market.
Step 4: Show them your plan with the Buyer Presentation, included in Premier Coaching.
Step 5: Ask for the commitment. Sign the buyer agreement, book the lender call and put the first tour on the calendar.
Let Agent AI do the prep. Our Agent AI team at HarrisAITeam.com can build your consultation agenda, turn your “what’s changed” points into a one-page handout and draft follow-up texts for every “just looking” buyer in your database.
Here’s how the conversation sounds
“We’re just looking. We’ll probably wait until spring.”
That makes sense. What has you thinking about it now?
“Our lease is up in March.”
On a scale of 1 to 10, how ready are you?
“Maybe a 5. We heard you have to offer over asking.”
That was true a couple of years ago. In your price range, homes are sitting longer and a lot of sellers have cut their prices. What would it take to get you to a 10?
“Knowing our payment.”
Let’s book 15 minutes with my lender this week, then pick five homes to see on Saturday.
The moral of the story: “just looking” is a buyer waiting for a reason. Give them a reason, a plan and a next step before they leave the table.
Here’s the math. Say you have 30 “just looking” buyers in your database. Book 10 consultations, sign 5 and close 3 in the next 90 days at a $10,000 average commission, and that’s $30,000.
It’s Q4, I’m sleeping five hours a night and living on coffee. How do I finish the year strong?
Start with your body, because your mindset runs on it. We call this technique regulating your physiology.
Protect your sleep like an appointment, with a set shutdown time and bedtime.
Swap one coffee for a 10-minute walk.
Rate your sleep, energy and stress each morning on a scale of 1 to 10, and fix anything below a 5 first. You can’t serve clients from an empty tank.
My buyers want to offer 15% under asking on every house because it’s a buyer’s market. How do I coach them?
Show them the numbers first. Nationally, homes are selling for about 98% of list price, Redfin says, and your MLS’s list-to-sale ratio is what matters. A stale listing with price cuts may take a low offer. A fresh, well-priced one won’t.
Let’s negotiate hard where the numbers say we can, and not lose the right house over a number the seller will never take.
A buyer called off a sign and wants to see the house tomorrow. Do I really need a buyer agreement first?
In most markets, yes, so check your MLS and state rules. It can cover just that one home.
Before we go in, I’ll walk you through a short agreement, so you know exactly what I’ll do for you and how I’m paid. It takes five minutes.
My buyer loves a home that’s been on the market 120 days, but the seller won’t budge on price. What now?
Ask for something other than price. Ask the listing agent what matters most to the seller, then ask for closing costs, repairs, a rate buydown or a better closing date.
Buyers keep saying they’ll wait until spring. Is spring really a better time to buy?
Spring is a better time to sell. Winter is often a better time to buy.
In the spring, you’ll have more choices, and so will everyone else. Would you rather negotiate now or compete later?
More choices don’t sell homes. Agents with a plan do.
Your challenge this week: Call every buyer who said they’re “just looking” or “waiting,” and book five consultations. That’s the real work of real estate. Then email us how many moved from a 5 to an 8 or higher.
Want someone in your corner holding you to it? Buyers keep telling you they’re “just looking”? Most of the time nobody has shown them what’s changed. Ask us how to turn them into buyers at PremierCoaching.com.
Meet the Harris AI Real Estate Team
We built a team of AI specialists that handles the busywork of running a real estate business, from follow-up to market reports, so you can spend your time with clients.
Ready to stop guessing and start producing?
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📲 Elite Coaching — text Tim directly: 512-758-0206
— Tim & Julie Harris
Founders of Tim & Julie Harris Real Estate Coaching | Publishers of Harris Real Estate Daily | Hosts of PowerHouseTalk | eXp Realty Sponsors at Libertas
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