Day 10, no offer. Buyers are cautious and taking their time, so weeks two and three are where a listing gets won or lost. This is the playbook we pulled together in The Loop: what to do before you talk price, and how to know when it really is price.

The rule

14 showings and no offers? It's price. 14 days without a showing? It's price.

Agree on that line with your seller up front. Until you hit it, work the plan below. Once you hit it, have the conversation without flinching.

1. Talk to the seller twice a week

  • Tuesday: a written report.
  • Thursday: a phone call.
  • Every open house: a short recap within 5 minutes of locking the door.

Silence is where sellers start to doubt you. Even if nothing happened, say so. No update is still an update.

2. The seller report

Keep it to one page and use the same order every time so the seller learns to read it:

  1. Where things stand, in two sentences.
  2. The funnel: views and saves, showings, open house visitors, follow up questions, offers.
  3. Where buyers dropped off, and what they bought instead.
  4. Feedback, quoted word for word, including the hard parts.
  5. What we're changing this week, and what happens if we reach the line above.

The first week's version is in Launch week and the weekly seller report. This is the same report with sharper questions.

3. Feedback starts before the showing

Feedback is hard to get in this market. It gets easier when you ask at the right moment.

  • When the showing is booked: text the buyer's agent a highlight sheet. They'll often reply from inside the house.
  • Right after: call. Agents pick up when they've just walked out.
  • Ask specific questions, not "any feedback?": - Is your buyer writing an offer? Yes or no. - How does it rank against what else they've seen? - What would have to change for them to write?

A sample text for when the showing is booked:

"Thanks for booking [address]. Here's the highlight sheet so you have it on hand. After you're out, could you tell me two things: is your buyer writing, and how does it rank against what they've seen?"

4. Concessions before cuts

A price cut lowers the number every future buyer anchors to. A concession can drop the buyer's payment while the price holds.

  • A seller paid rate buydown puts money toward the buyer's rate instead of off the price.
  • Market the concession publicly. In the listing, in the open house materials, in your agent emails. One agent offered a buydown or up to a year of HOA dues, and the listing sold fast.
  • Talk monthly payment, not just price. That's the number the buyer lives with.

Lender limits apply, and the buyer still has to qualify. Have the buyer's lender confirm what's allowed.

5. Fall back in love with open houses

Agents are seeing more buyers at opens than at private showings right now. Add a midweek twilight open for the neighbors, then hit Saturday and Sunday. Track it like a pipeline, and put it in the report.

6. Work the agents

Call agents who sold to buyers in that neighborhood over the last two years. They may have a buyer who missed out. One listing got an offer that way, right before the price drop.

Try it this week

Pick one listing past day 10. Send the Tuesday report, make the Thursday call, and text the highlight sheet on the next showing that books.