Modern Decision Process for Home Buyers

From search to offer, understand the psychology and the steps that buyers experience while looking for and deciding on a propert.

Prospect Stage

The process starts when

A prospect is either
- on their phone
- in the car
- at a restaurant
- at home with a PC
An agent is working for a prospect on their desktop

Search Online (prospect or prospect's agent)

They enter initial criteria

Cities
# Bedrooms
# Squarefeet
$ Price Range (low to high)

Search Results

Prospects or their agents are presented with several rows and pages of results
Each row contains a single photo along with top-line property information

1st Click

If the prospect or agent is interested in the initial photo they click on the property of interest to view more detail

2nd Click

Additional photos are displayed
The prospect/agent is looking for anything that could disqualify
If there is still interest they may read the details of the description

3rd Click

Prospect/Agent may do any of the following:

Save the desirable property to take action later
Contact listing agent to make a showing appointment
Mark off the property as undesirable
Move on to view the details of the next property

Candidate Stage

If the prospect is still interested they can now be considered a "viable candidate".

The Showing

Candidate visits the property and determines

If the home is being well cared for and maintained
Is the home consistent with its online appearance
How this home compares with the statistical 12 or more alternative homes they are also considering

The Decision

The prospect is at their final step and will either:

Revisit
Discard or
Make an offer