08/13/2026
ARE SELLERS LISTENING TO YOU DURING HOME SHOWINGS?
Smart cameras, doorbells and home monitoring systems have become commonplace—and their presence in a home is understandable. Sellers certainly have a legitimate interest in protecting their property and knowing what is happening inside their home.
But.. what happens when those devices aren't simply being used for security?
According to a recent Realtor.com article, 72% of recent homebuyers surveyed said they had either seen or suspected cameras, microphones or recording devices during a home tour. More significantly, 19% of sellers with recording devices acknowledged using them to listen to what prospective buyers liked or disliked, while 18% used them to gauge buyers' interest.
That's where this becomes more than a question about home security.
What a buyer says during a showing can reveal an enormous amount:
How much they love the home.
What they dislike.
How badly they want it.
How much they're prepared to spend.
How flexible their timeline may be.
What contingencies matter to them.
And potentially, what they intend to offer.
Those aren't simply casual conversations. They can become negotiating intelligence.
The article describes how recordings can alter negotiations—and even derail transactions. One seller reportedly rejected an offer after overhearing buyers criticize the home and discuss how low they intended to offer. Financial comments can be even more consequential: information about available cash, financing capacity, flexibility or motivation can materially weaken a buyer's negotiating position.
This is why we advise our buyers to limit conversations, emotions and reactions while inside—or even immediately outside—a home.
Look carefully. Ask necessary questions. Take notes. But save substantive discussion about the property, your level of interest, finances and negotiating strategy until you've left.
There's another side to this that sellers should consider as well.
Buyers need to experience a home. They need to talk about it, imagine themselves living there and react naturally to what they're seeing. When buyers believe every word and reaction may be monitored, that experience changes.
In the survey, 22% of buyers said they avoided showing excitement about a home because they feared it could affect negotiations. Another 19% said they had actually left a showing or open house because they felt they were being watched.
That should matter to sellers.
A security system protecting your home is one thing. Creating an environment in which prospective buyers don't feel comfortable experiencing it may ultimately work against the very objective of putting the property on the market.
And then there is audio.
Video surveillance may be understandable for security purposes. Listening to conversations between buyers and their agent is something very different. Depending upon the circumstances and applicable law, undisclosed audio recording may also raise legal and ethical concerns.
Technology has changed the showing environment.
Our advice to buyers has changed with it:
Assume you may be seen. Assume you may be heard. And don't surrender your negotiating position before the negotiation has even begun.
Basically... everything you say and do can, and may, be used against you.
Jeff Leonard
