How long should I work with a buyer who will not make an offer?

Until you know why they are not making one. If they cannot tell you after a real consultation, agree a date to pause and check in later rather than touring indefinitely.

Should I stop sending automatic listing alerts?

Not necessarily, but they should not be your main contact. A short personal note on the few homes that truly fit gets far more response.

For buyer agents

Your buyers look at listings but will not make offers.

They open every listing you send. They might even tour. But they never say "let’s write it." More listings will not fix it. Something underneath is stopping them, and your job is to find out what.

Step 1

Go back to the consultation

Most stuck buyers skipped a real consultation, or had one months ago. Sit down again and ask: what has to be true for you to make an offer? What would make you walk away? Write their answers down and read them back.

Step 2

Find the real objection

It is usually one of a few things.

Money. They are not truly approved, or the payment scares them. Get them to a lender conversation.
Fear of overpaying. Show what similar homes actually closed at, not list prices.
Somebody else decides. A partner or parent who never comes to showings. Invite them.
Wrong criteria. What they asked for is not what they react to. Ask what they liked about the last three homes.

Step 3

Send fewer, better listings

An automatic search that sends forty homes a week trains buyers to browse. Pick three, explain in a sentence why each one fits what they told you, and ask which to see.

Step 4

Set a timeline together

Ask them when they want to be moved in, then count back: when they need to be under contract, and how many more weekends of touring that leaves. A date they chose is something you can both hold to.

Your brokerage

Where your brokerage fits

Most MLSs now require a written buyer agreement before you tour a home with a buyer. Your brokerage decides which form you use and what terms are allowed, so check before you change anything.
If you have spent months with a buyer who will not move, ask your broker how the office handles it. Some will suggest a referral or a co-agent.
Advisors on RealAly agree, before they are listed, never to use a session to recruit you to their brokerage or team. You keep your broker; you just get a second opinion from outside the office.

Questions

What agents ask

How long should I work with a buyer who will not make an offer?: Until you know why they are not making one. If they cannot tell you after a real consultation, agree a date to pause and check in later rather than touring indefinitely.
Should I stop sending automatic listing alerts?: Not necessarily, but they should not be your main contact. A short personal note on the few homes that truly fit gets far more response.