Real estate agents often find it difficult to match a buyer's stated preferences with the property they ultimately choose. Nordine Mouaouia, using insights from behavioral science, explains how agents can go beyond what buyers say they want and instead focus on their actual behavior during property visits. For example, a couple initially said they wanted a ground-floor house with a garden and within twenty minutes of the city center. After eleven weeks, however, they committed to an apartment on the top floor, without an elevator, located in the city center, and without a garden. They were not being dishonest, but their final choice did not match their initial stated preferences. According to research from the Immobilier Decision Barometer, out of ten buyers who say "this one is it" during a property visit, only about a quarter will make an offer within seven days. This gap shows the difficulty agents face in accurately interpreting what buyers truly want. The brain's fast, intuitive part often makes the decision, while the slower, more analytical part later creates justifications. These justifications are often written down on discovery sheets, which can mislead agents into thinking they have accurate buyer criteria when, in fact, they are recording after-the-fact reasoning. Studies by Timothy Wilson and Jonathan Schooler in 1991 show that asking buyers to explain why they like a property can change their preferences, as tastes are not always easy to explain. This can lead buyers to give justifications that sound reasonable, such as liking the light, space, or orientation, even if those reasons don’t reflect their true preferences. Similarly, research by Ap Dijksterhuis and colleagues in 2006 suggests that for complex decisions, like choosing a home, overthinking can lead to worse choices, while a more intuitive approach may be more effective. In 2012, Emily Falk and her colleagues found that participants' stated preferences for prevention campaigns did not match the actual effectiveness of those campaigns. This suggests that asking buyers what convinced them may not give accurate insights. Instead, observing their behavior during visits can be more reliable. Agents are advised to avoid asking for explanations during visits and instead focus on what they see and hear—such as where a buyer lingers or what they comment on. Practical advice includes delaying the decision-making process by a day or two to let preferences become clearer and asking buyers to imagine what they would say if the property were to leave the next morning. This shifts the focus from opinion to action and commitment, making the decision more reliable. In one example, a couple searching for a house with a garden and ground floor ended up buying an apartment with a terrace. Their agent observed their behavior during the visit, noting how they interacted with the terrace, and let them make the decision based on their observed preferences rather than their initial stated criteria. This case shows the value of watching behavior and giving time for decisions to clarify, rather than relying solely on what buyers say they want.