In Polk County, Florida, Buyers Are Using AI and Single-Property Agreements to Reshape How Deals Get Done

Written by:

Alejandra Rodriguez

Date:

24 Aug 2026

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The assumption that longer days on market signal a weak housing market doesn’t hold up in Polk County, Florida. Homes there are sitting longer; days on market have climbed from single digits during the pandemic to the 90s, yet properties are still closing at 97% of asking price across most neighborhoods, according to Jen Lay, team leader and listing specialist at The Lay Group with eXp Realty. The disconnect points to something structural: buyers aren’t absent; they’re behaving differently.

Lay has sold real estate in the Lakeland area for more than 20 years and closed 63 transactions year-to-date. She says the shift is driven by a new type of buyer, one armed with AI tools, educated on recent industry rule changes, and deliberately taking more time before committing.

The Single-Property Agreement

Three years after buyer brokerage agreements became mandatory, buyers in Polk County have learned to use the rules to their advantage. Rather than committing to one agent upfront, they’re signing single-property representation agreements, one property at a time, effectively auditioning agents before choosing.

Lay describes a recent transaction in Winter Haven where a buyer signed property-specific agreements for three homes. His lender reported he’d worked with eight different agents over eight months. The dynamic forced Lay’s team to provide comparables and strategic advice on each property before earning the full engagement. The buyer ultimately closed and told her she’d earned his business at every step.

“The modern buyer understands that they have to sign a buyer brokerage agreement if they’re going to work with an agent,” Lay says. “This buyer calls and says, I want to see your listing, but I want to see two other listings. I don’t want to decide who I’m going to work with yet.”

The implication for listing agents is practical: the days of a cooperating agent showing up once during a 45-day contract and collecting a check at closing are fading. Buyers are selecting agents based on demonstrated value, not inertia.

AI Is Making Buyers More Confident

Buyers are arriving to conversations having already consulted Claude or ChatGPT about pricing, contract terms, and negotiation strategy. The result is a more assertive buyer who sometimes overestimates what AI output actually means.

“Most buyers are using AI like Google,” Lay says. “They don’t understand that whatever they’re putting in is what’s going to come out. They may think they’re right, but that’s not really the case.”

In the Winter Haven transaction, the buyer attempted to renegotiate contract terms three days after going under contract, technically possible but strategically unwise. Lay attributes this to AI-informed confidence that didn’t account for how the move would land with the seller. The education piece, she says, is what ultimately kept the deal together.

Lay says this dynamic is also accelerating a shakeout among agents. Buyers who research terms and strategy through AI tools are quicker to identify agents who can’t keep up, including veterans who haven’t adapted to the new brokerage agreement structure or learned how buyers are using these tools.

Concessions Are Standard

Of the 63 transactions Lay’s team has closed this year, between 50 and 52 involved some form of seller concession – either a price reduction or closing cost contribution. Sellers, she says, have largely accepted that the pandemic pricing environment is over.

“Sellers have finally gotten realistic that we’re not in the COVID market anymore,” she says. “Most sellers still have equity in their home.”

Still, some resist. Lay describes a current listing where three offers came in with nearly identical terms. The seller countered the same way to all three buyers, refusing to acknowledge the property was overpriced by $10,000. The home finally went under contract on a Monday, on terms matching the first offer the seller had rejected.

Below $200,000, the dynamic inverts. Inventory is scarce, and Lay says buyers at that price point are likely competing against multiple offers. She recently spent 90 minutes realigning expectations with a buyer seeking USDA financing at $170,000 with 6% in seller concessions, a combination she called unrealistic given current supply. Sellers at that level often don’t have enough equity to offer significant concessions, and the rural financing requirement further limits available inventory.

What’s Moving and Where the Opportunity Sits

Homes that are priced correctly and marketed aggressively are still selling. Lay says the listings that languish tend to be those where agents relied on MLS exposure alone without additional outreach or video marketing. Her team’s property videos routinely reach 2,000 to 3,000 views within 24 hours, and she attributes several closings this year directly to video content.

She cites one listing where every room was painted a different color. Rather than treating it as a liability, her team marketed it with the line “How would you like to live in a box of crayons?” A buyer’s autistic son saw the video, told his father, and the family purchased the home.

For investors, Lay points to two areas of opportunity: probate properties, where heirs may prefer a cash sale over preparing a home for market, and a returning short sale market. “The short sale market is coming back,” she says. “For an investor, those are opportunities: here’s a house that is in great shape; the sellers are in a bad spot.”

Lakeland’s Position Between Tampa and Orlando

The county’s broader appeal continues to rest on its position between Tampa and Orlando, an hour from each, with an average home price around $379,000 compared to roughly $800,000 in the St. Pete-Clearwater corridor. Approximately 60% of buyers are locals moving within Polk County, with the remainder relocating from out of state.

Lay says outsiders tend to underestimate the county’s economic base. Publix’s corporate headquarters are located there, along with Pepsi, Saddle Creek, Amazon, and a recent partnership with Avelo Airlines.

“This market is the toughest one that I’ve seen in a very long time,” Lay says. “Be patient with the market, because sellers, you’re going to sell, and buyers, you’re going to find the perfect home, as long as you work with the right person.”

About the Expert: Jen Lay is a team leader and listing specialist at The Lay Group with eXp Realty and has sold real estate in the Lakeland, Florida area for more than 20 years.

This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.