Greenspan: The questions agents are asking now

The views expressed in this column are solely those of the author.

Every market has its own conversations.

Lately, I’ve found myself paying less attention to the answers and far more attention to the actual questions being asked.

They’re revealing a lot more about where our industry really is right now than any headline, housing report or economic forecast ever could.

The questions have changed

Over the past month, since my last column, as I’ve been coaching clients, training, speaking and meeting with agents across the country, I’ve walked away from those conversations thinking about the questions people are asking.

Five years ago, those questions sounded very different:

“How do I get more listings?”

“How do I compete in multiple offers?”

“How do I beat the competition?”

Back then, the market rewarded speed. If you secured the listing, chances were it would sell. Buyers were everywhere, inventory was plentiful, and mistakes had a way of correcting themselves.

Today’s conversations tell a different story, though:

“Should I take this listing?”

“What do I tell my buyers?”

“Should I tell them to wait?”

“Should I be spending money right now?”

“How are things out there?”

Those aren’t just business questions. They’re confidence questions. And that’s what makes them so interesting. Every market creates its own set of concerns.

And if you pay attention to the questions people are asking, you begin to understand what’s really happening beneath the surface.

The listing wasn’t really the question

During a recent training session, one of the agents asked a question that sparked a really strategic conversation with everyone: ”I’ve got another listing appointment coming up,” she said, then hesitated and added, “But… I don’t know if I should take it.”

Five years ago, no one would have asked that question. If someone wanted to sell their home, most of us were eager to get the paperwork signed because the odds of success were overwhelmingly in their favour. It was a seller’s market. You had the listing; you were sitting on gold.

She went on to explain that she’d recently taken two listings where the sellers wanted to price above the market. They weren’t under pressure to move. They were happy to “test the market” and see what happened.

She did everything we’d expect a professional to do: professional photography, strong marketing, open houses, social media, regular communication.

But the homes didn’t sell.

Eventually came the difficult conversations. The price reductions. The frustration. The finger-pointing that often follows when expectations and reality never meet.

Now she was sitting in front of another opportunity, wondering if she should say yes.

The more we talked, the more I realized she wasn’t really asking whether she should take the listing.

She was asking something much deeper: How do I know if this client is genuinely motivated? How do I protect my time? How do I recognize the difference between an opportunity and a distraction?

Those are questions about judgment. And she’s not the only one asking them.

Today’s market hasn’t made listings less important. It’s made preparation more important. And the listing presentation no longer begins with your marketing plan — it should begin with you asking better questions.

What’s their motive for moving? Do they have a specific timeline? What happens if the home doesn’t sell? If the market tells us we’re overpriced, are we prepared to listen?

Those conversations aren’t always comfortable, but avoiding them rarely makes life easier six weeks later.

Asking the right questions always teaches us a lot.

“How are things out there?”

There’s another question I’ve been hearing almost everywhere I go.

“How are things out there?”

It’s funny, because I don’t think anyone is actually asking about inventory levels or average days on market. Those numbers are easy enough to find.

I think they’re asking something much more personal:

“Am I the only one feeling this?”

“Is everyone else’s business slower too?”

“Is this normal?”

People are checking the pulse. They’re trying to understand whether what they’re experiencing is unique or whether everyone is navigating the same uncertainty.

That question says a lot about the moment we’re in, and what it tells me is that confidence has definitely changed across the board.

Even the best of the best are quietly questioning right now.

Remember who your clients really are

A few nights ago, I was catching up with a longtime friend who’s built an incredible career in real estate.

Like most conversations between old friends, we eventually stopped talking about work. We talked about groceries, insurance, vacations, kids, sports, housing — and every topic somehow came back to the same conclusion: life has become expensive.

At one point, one of us asked, “If we’re feeling this… how’s everyone else doing it?”

That wasn’t a real estate conversation. It was a life conversation. And it reminded me that our clients are living in that exact same reality.

They’re not waking up every morning thinking about interest rates or housing statistics. They’re wondering if they can still afford hockey registration this fall, or whether the family vacation needs to wait another year, or whether the car that’s making a strange noise is about to become a $5,000 repair, or whether they’ll ever retire.

Then we wonder why people hesitate before buying or selling a home.

Maybe they’re not dragging their feet. Maybe they’re simply trying to make a huge financial decision they can actually live with. And that’s a very different starting point.

When we approach clients with empathy instead of frustration, the conversation changes. We stop trying to convince them, and we start trying to understand them.

The best way to understand anyone, and any situation, is to ask questions.

And that is exactly what people are doing right now. The gold for all of us is in listening to what those questions are.

Stop looking for certainty

I’ve also noticed that challenging markets create another predictable pattern: everyone starts looking for certainty.

“Should I buy?”

“Should I sell?”

“Should I wait?”

“Where are interest rates going?”

After more than two decades in this business, I’ve learned that certainty has always been something people search for and almost never find.

Every market cycle comes with reasons to wait. The headlines change. Governments change. Interest rates change. Consumer confidence changes.

But uncertainty doesn’t.

That’s why I don’t believe our job is to predict the future. I believe our job is to help people make the best decision they can with the information available today.

And there’s a big difference: consumers need perspective, not another prediction.

The questions are your roadmap

As I think back on the conversations I’ve had over the past few weeks, I keep coming back to one simple realization: the questions people are asking are quietly telling us exactly what they need.

Every buyer question. Every seller concern. Every objection. Every hesitation. Every conversation that makes you stop and think. Start paying attention. Write them down.

If you’re hearing the same question over and over again, the market is trying to tell you something. It might be telling you what content to create, what skill to improve, what conversations to master, and where your clients need your guidance most.

Markets will always change. The headlines will always change. The questions will change too.

But if you learn to listen closely, you’ll discover something far more valuable than having all the answers: you’ll know exactly what your clients need from you next.

And that’s where your value has always lived.

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