Buying a home · Stage
Searching
How to read listings critically and how the market actually moves in any specific area.
The searching stage is the most visible part of the buyer journey — touring homes, working with a buyer's agent, and narrowing on neighborhoods. The median buyer tours about eight homes before making an offer, with material variation by market.
- Signing a written buyer-broker agreement before showings — required post-2024 NAR settlement
- Touring homes and absorbing what the local market actually looks like rather than what listing photos suggest
- Reading listings critically (price reductions, days on market, withdrawn-and-relisted patterns)
- Narrowing on neighborhoods based on schools, commute, and day-to-day livability
Questions to ask at this stage
Ask yourself
- What are the must-haves vs. nice-to-haves for the home itself, and the neighborhood?
- Has the agent been transparent about which neighborhoods they specialize in and which they don't know as well?
Ask your buyer's agent
- What does the buyer-broker agreement say about compensation, exclusivity, and how to terminate the arrangement?
- For each home of serious interest, what's the price-per-square-foot relative to recent comparable sales in the neighborhood?
Ask the listing agent (via your buyer's agent)
- What's the listing's history (price reductions, days on market, prior contracts that fell through)?
- Are there any known issues with the property that haven't shown up in the listing description?
Articles in this stage
- How buyer's agents actually work, especially after the 2024 NAR settlementThe buyer's agent role didn't change overnight, but the compensation structure did. The post-settlement landscape requires explicit buyer-broker agreements before showings start, and buyer-side commission is now a separate negotiation from the listing agreement.
- What to look for during a home tour, beyond what the listing photos showA 30-minute walkthrough is not a substitute for a professional inspection, but it's the only chance to absorb the things photos can't capture, light, smell, neighborhood feel, and the specific signals that a deeper look is worth doing.
More in the buyer journey
- 01Getting startedDeciding whether to buy, sizing up affordability, and understanding what the next year looks like.
- 02FinancingHow mortgages work, what lenders look at, and how to compare loan products honestly.
- 03 · You are hereSearching
- 04Making an offerWhat goes into a contract, how negotiation typically works, and which terms carry the most weight.
- 05Under contractInspections, contingencies, appraisals, and the period when the deal is at most risk of falling apart.
- 06ClosingThe legal mechanics of transferring ownership, the closing disclosure, and the day itself.
- 07AfterThe first year of ownership, the homestead exemption, and the tax basics buyers commonly miss.