As of this month, I have been selling homes full-time here in Austin, Texas for 17 years. I've sold hundreds of homes, both as a listing agent and as a buyer's agent. There are times when I have shown 12-15 homes in a single day, sometimes for several days in a row. On those days, I am swamped with calls and emails from listing agents who want feedback from the showings. 
When they call me, I give real feedback.
"It's badly overpriced."
"The floor is sloping in the dining room, and the buyers were concerned that there might be a structural issue."
"The wallpaper hasn't been replaced since the Kennedy administration."
And just yesterday, I texted this in response to a request (transcribed verbatim here):
"Overall, it's a nice house, but it was too much cosmetic work for their taste. They felt like they would have to redo the kitchen, and remove the carpet upstairs (allergies). We couldn't see the upstairs bathroom at all, which was okay. The front bedroom closet door needs to be reattached (I thought it was a normal door, then it fell on my head). There is also a big piece of missing trim in that room near the hall."
When I was looking at the house, the buyers and I all wondered why they didn't just wait to put it on the market until after the work was completed. In addition to the above, the microwave was missing temporarily, and they were working on tile work in the bathroom, and planning to replace the back door and trim. The agent admitted that he should have held off before going "active".
At any rate, I don't really pull any punches when I am asked for my input. I will willingly share the truth, even in its unvarnished form. I don't think I'm doing them any favors by saying stuff like, "It just didn't work for my buyers."
If it needs work, I say so.
Price reduction will help? I will let them know.
I expect other agents to do the same for me for my listings.
Thanks for reading!
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9979792@N04/
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