Why the Number May Be Much Smaller Than You Think
When people start thinking about buying a home, I think many picture spending weekend after weekend touring properties. Driving from town to town, walking through open houses, comparing kitchens, and trying to remember which house had the better backyard.
And sometimes that’s exactly what happens.
But in my experience, particularly in a market like Vermont where inventory can be limited, the number of homes we actually visit in person may be considerably smaller than you expect.
It wouldn’t surprise me if we toured only a handful of properties before finding the right one. We might even find it on our first showing.
And that doesn’t mean we’re rushing the process, settling, or skipping important steps.
Quite the opposite.
I’m Erin McCormick, a Realtor with Keller Williams Vermont, and I believe some of the most valuable work I do for buyers happens long before we walk through a front door.
The research, conversations, property evaluations, and market analysis that take place behind the scenes can help us narrow dozens of potential listings to just a few homes that are genuinely worth seeing.
My goal isn’t to show you as many houses as possible. It’s to help you find the right one as efficiently and thoughtfully as possible.
In a Low-Inventory Market, There May Not Be That Many Homes to See
One of the realities of buying real estate in Vermont is that inventory can be limited, especially when you narrow your search to a particular location, price range, property type, or combination of features.
If you’re looking for a three-bedroom home in a specific school district, within a particular budget, with a two-car garage and a manageable commute, the number of available properties may be relatively small.
Add a preference for acreage, mountain views, a walkable village, or a particular style of home, and the options may narrow even further.
That doesn’t mean your search is unsuccessful.
It means we’re working within the realities of the market.
I think it’s important for buyers to understand this early because searching for a home isn’t necessarily a process where we’ll have ten or fifteen suitable properties to choose from at any given time.
Sometimes there are only two.
Sometimes there are none.
And sometimes the right property comes on the market after we’ve spent several weeks watching and waiting.
The number of homes we tour is influenced as much by the availability of suitable properties as it is by the buyer’s preferences.
Your Home Search Starts With a Conversation, Not a Showing
Before we ever schedule a tour, I want to understand what you’re looking for and, just as importantly, why.
Of course, we’ll discuss the basics: price range, bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, and preferred locations.
But those details only tell part of the story.
I want to know how you plan to live in the home.
Do you want to walk to coffee shops and restaurants, or would you rather have several acres and no immediate neighbors? Are you comfortable maintaining a long driveway? Do you need reliable high-speed internet for remote work? Are you hoping for a home that’s move-in ready, or are you willing to take on renovations?
If you’re relocating to Vermont, I also want to understand what draws you here and how familiar you are with the communities you’re considering.
And if you’ve already lived in Vermont for years, I want to know what you love about your current location and what you’re hoping to change.
Those conversations help me understand which properties are actually worth your time.
A listing might technically meet your search criteria and still be completely wrong for the way you want to live.
I’d rather identify that before we schedule a showing.
We’re Evaluating Homes Online Long Before We Visit Them
The internet has fundamentally changed how people buy real estate.
Most buyers spend considerable time browsing listings, studying photos, comparing properties, and researching locations before ever contacting an agent.
And once we’re working together, that research becomes more targeted.
When a new property comes on the market, I’m not simply looking at the number of bedrooms and the asking price.
I’m considering the layout, condition, location, comparable sales, and how the property aligns with your priorities.
Photos, Floor Plans, and Virtual Tours
Good listing photography can tell us a tremendous amount about a home.
We can often get a sense of the layout, natural light, finishes, room proportions, and overall condition before visiting.
Floor plans and virtual tours can be especially helpful for understanding how the home functions.
Of course, photos aren’t always a perfect representation of reality, and there’s no substitute for experiencing a property in person.
But if we can already tell that the layout doesn’t work or that a home lacks a feature you’ve identified as essential, we may not need to tour it.
Seller Disclosures and Property Documents
When seller disclosures and supporting documents are available, I want to review them early.
These materials may identify known issues, past repairs, system information, or other details that influence whether a property is worth pursuing.
If a seller has disclosed a condition that would be a dealbreaker for you, I’d rather know before we spend an afternoon driving to see the house.
And if something needs further investigation, we can start asking questions before the showing.
Disclosures aren’t a substitute for inspections, and not every property will have the same documentation available. But they’re an important part of our preliminary research.
Property Records and Vermont-Specific Considerations
Vermont properties often come with details that deserve a closer look.
We may want to investigate whether a home has municipal water and sewer or private systems, whether the road is publicly maintained, what permits are available, or whether the property has recorded restrictions that could affect your plans.
If you’re considering a rural home, questions about septic capacity, water sources, access, internet availability, and maintenance responsibilities may be particularly important.
Not every answer can be confirmed before a showing, but preliminary research can help us identify potential concerns.
Pricing and Comparable Sales
I also want you to understand how a property fits into the market.
Is it priced competitively? How does it compare with recent sales? What other homes are available in the same price range? Does its condition justify the asking price?
Sometimes a property looks appealing until we examine the pricing more closely.
Other times, the market analysis reinforces that it’s worth seeing promptly.
The more work we do in advance, the more informed our decisions become.
A Listing Can Look Right on Paper and Still Be Wrong for You
One of the most useful things we can do during a home search is eliminate properties that don’t genuinely fit.
Let’s say you want a home with some acreage and privacy.
A listing appears with five acres, four bedrooms, and a beautiful kitchen.
At first glance, it seems promising.
But after looking more closely, we discover that much of the acreage is steeply sloped, the house sits close to a busy road, or the layout doesn’t accommodate your needs.
The listing may still be a wonderful home for someone.
It just may not be the right home for you.
And that’s an important distinction.
I don’t believe we need to tour every property that looks remotely interesting.
I want us to focus on the homes that have a realistic chance of being a good fit.
Vermont Geography Makes Thoughtful Showings Even More Important
Another factor that makes our market unique is geography.
Depending on where you’re looking, properties can be spread across multiple towns and counties, with significant driving time between them.
A buyer interested in Stowe, Waterbury, Waitsfield, and the Mad River Valley could easily spend an entire day touring just a few homes.
And in more rural parts of Vermont, the time between showings can be even greater.
I’ve spent years exploring Vermont through Travel Like a Local® Vermont, and that firsthand knowledge of our towns, backroads, and communities is something I bring to my real estate business.
I want to help you understand the lifestyle associated with a property, not just what it looks like in the listing.
A home may be twenty miles from your workplace, but what does that drive actually look like? Is the road paved? How might winter weather or mud season affect your routine? How close are you to the places you want to visit regularly?
Those considerations can be just as important as the home itself.
And when we understand them in advance, we can avoid unnecessary trips to properties that don’t make sense for your lifestyle.
We May Look at Dozens of Homes Without Touring Dozens of Homes
This is the part of the process I think buyers sometimes underestimate.
We might evaluate thirty or forty listings over the course of your search.
We may review photos, discuss floor plans, compare neighborhoods, look at property records, and eliminate homes for a variety of reasons.
But perhaps only four or five of those properties are compelling enough to warrant an in-person visit.
That’s not a lack of activity.
That’s the result of doing the research.
In fact, I’d argue that a focused home search can be more productive than touring a long list of properties that only loosely match your criteria.
The goal is to make each showing meaningful.
By the time we arrive, I want us to have a good understanding of why we’re considering that particular home and what questions we need to answer while we’re there.
What Happens When Nothing Suitable Is Available?
Sometimes the most productive thing we can do is wait.
I know that isn’t always what buyers want to hear, especially when they’re excited to begin their search.
But if nothing on the market aligns with your priorities and budget, touring unsuitable homes simply for the sake of looking doesn’t necessarily move us closer to a purchase.
Instead, we can use that time to monitor new listings, study recent sales, refine your criteria, and make sure you’re prepared when the right property becomes available.
We can also revisit your priorities if necessary.
Perhaps expanding the geographic area would create more opportunities. Maybe a different property style would meet your needs. Or perhaps there are features that seemed essential initially but aren’t as important after further discussion.
I want those decisions to be intentional.
I don’t believe in encouraging buyers to compromise on something important simply because inventory is limited.
But I do believe in helping them understand the tradeoffs available.
When the Right Home Appears, Preparation Helps Us Move Confidently
One advantage of doing so much work before showings is that we’re better prepared when a promising property becomes available.
Ideally, we’ve already discussed financing and your budget, identified your priorities, reviewed comparable sales, and talked through potential offer strategies.
So when we tour a home that appears to be a strong fit, we’re not starting from scratch.
We can focus on the questions that matter.
Does the property feel the way we expected? Does the condition align with the listing? Are there concerns we need to investigate? How does it compare with other options we’ve evaluated?
And if you decide you’d like to make an offer, we can move forward with a thoughtful strategy rather than scrambling to gather basic information.
That doesn’t mean skipping inspections or other due diligence.
It means being prepared to make decisions efficiently when the opportunity is right.
You Don’t Need to Tour Ten Homes to Know You’ve Found the Right One
There’s a common belief that buyers need to see a certain number of homes before they can make a good decision.
I don’t agree.
Sometimes buyers find the right home on their first showing.
Sometimes it takes months and many tours.
Neither experience is inherently better.
What matters is whether the buyer understands the property, the market, the financial commitment, and the risks involved.
If we’ve spent weeks researching homes online, evaluating neighborhoods, reviewing documents, and discussing your priorities, your first showing isn’t necessarily the beginning of your search.
It’s simply the first time we’re experiencing one of those properties in person.
And if that home checks the right boxes, there’s no rule saying we need to keep looking just to reach an arbitrary number.
At the same time, if you’re uncertain or need more context, there’s value in continuing to evaluate options.
I want you to feel comfortable with the decision, not pressured to make it.
I Don’t Measure My Value by How Many Doors I Open
This is something I feel particularly strongly about.
A Realtor’s value isn’t determined by the number of properties they show.
Opening a door is one small part of buyer representation.
The real work involves understanding the client’s goals, researching properties, evaluating market conditions, identifying potential concerns, negotiating effectively, managing deadlines, and helping buyers make informed decisions.
Sometimes that work results in twenty showings.
Other times, it results in two.
I don’t think one outcome demonstrates more effort or better representation than the other.
In fact, if we’ve done our homework and can eliminate properties that aren’t a good fit before visiting them, I consider that a benefit.
Your time is valuable, and I want to respect it.
I’d rather spend an hour researching a property and determine that it isn’t worth seeing than have you take time off work, arrange childcare, or spend half a day driving to a home that was never likely to meet your needs.
My Goal Is a Thoughtful Search, Not an Endless One
When we work together to buy a home in Vermont, I want the process to feel organized, intentional, and informed.
We’ll talk about your goals, understand the market, research properties, review available information, and schedule showings that make sense.
We may look at a lot of listings online.
We may spend time waiting for the right property to become available.
And we may tour fewer homes in person than you initially imagined.
That’s perfectly okay.
Because a successful home search isn’t about how many houses you’ve walked through.
It’s about finding a property that works for your life, understanding what you’re purchasing, and making a decision you feel confident about.
My goal isn’t to show you more homes. It’s to help you make better decisions about the ones that matter.
If you’re thinking about buying a home in Vermont, I’d love to help you approach the search with local knowledge, thorough research, and a strategy that makes the most of your time.
Let's Find Your Place in Vermont
Erin McCormick | Realtor, Keller Williams Vermont
Founder, Travel Like a Local® Vermont | Live Local Vermont