Is Asking for Buyer Feedback After Showings Actually Useful? 70% Is Just Noise

Why 70% is noise

Buyer agents fill in feedback as a perfunctory courtesy — they don’t want to offend the seller or reveal their buyer’s position. Common templates: ‘Showed well, just not the right fit’; ‘Buyer prefers a finished basement’; ‘Considering other options’. These say nothing actionable.

The 30% that matters: find patterns

Look for recurring themes. If 6 of 10 feedbacks say ‘price feels high’ — that’s data; 1 mention is anecdote. 5 mentioning ‘kitchen feels dated’ = staging/minor reno opportunity. Single opinion = noise; 3+ similar = signal.

Source matters too

Brokerage source matters. If 80% of feedback comes from West GTA brokerages but your listing is east end = your agent’s marketing area is wrong. All from one brokerage = listing didn’t spread across agent network — commission split may be deterring buyer agents.

Feedback vs. offer: which to trust

An offer is 10× more meaningful than feedback. One lowball offer beats 100 ‘price too high’ comments. Feedback is market preparation signal; an offer is the market’s verdict. Once you have offers, feedback value drops sharply.

How to get honest buyer-agent feedback

Trick: have the listing agent add to the follow-up email ‘sellers welcome candid feedback to refine pricing — harsh comments welcome’. That single line boosts response rate 15–20% and improves comment quality. Most buyer agents avoid offense, not opinion.

Is low response rate the agent’s fault?

GTA average is 30–40% — single metric doesn’t tell the story. The listing agent should have ShowingTime auto-sending weekly follow-up reminders. Response rate depends on system setup and reminder frequency, not just personal effort.

Can I call the buyer’s agent directly?

No. RECO requires communication through respective listing/buyer agents. Direct contact = breach, can hurt future offers. Have your listing agent ping via ShowingTime instead.

Does open house feedback count?

Open house visitors are mostly unrepresented browsers — feedback has low value. But it gauges traffic volume. 30+ visitors and no follow-up showings = the property’s presentation has issues.

Should I re-stage if feedback says staging is off?

If 3+ mentions — yes. Each stage refresh costs $500–1500 and can affect final price 1–2% = small input, big return. 1–2 mentions: observe first.

Feedback is all positive but no offers — why?

Classic ‘love but won’t commit’ signal. Meaning: price too high. Buyers love the home but don’t see the value. A 2–3% price cut usually breaks the impasse.