Buyer's remorse is likely to take on a more sinister turn in the coming months, as people who purchased their houses at the top of the market take out their frustrations on their real estate agents.

Historical precedent suggests that as housing values stagnate and then fall, the "last batch" of buyers often become resentful -- so much so that they may lash out at their agents or other professionals involved in the process, according to Victor Insurance Managers. The firm, a major vendor of errors-and-omissions policies to agents and brokers, says that realty companies should expect to see a jump in the number of lawsuits filed against their agents in the coming months. When tempers rise, matters ordinarily considered minor inconveniences could become major issues to be litigated.

As the firm points out, agents who are sued in these market conditions face no greater liability of being found at fault than they would any other time. But that doesn't lessen the ordeal of defending themselves in a court of law.

In today's new-home market, mortgage rate buy-downs, upgrades, and cash to cover closing costs are already the norm. Some builders are even offering cash bonuses or higher commissions to agents who bring buyers to their doors.

Now, price cuts are imminent -- or already taking place, says Ben Caballero of HomesUSA. The Dallas-based brokerage lists new homes for sale for more than 60 builders in the four major Texas markets. "Builders offer the incentives and bonuses before lowering prices," Caballero told me. "They are now lowering prices."

Caballero knows a bit about selling new houses: He is a three-time Guinness World Record holder for "most annual home sale transactions through MLS by an individual sell-side real estate agent." He is also the only agent to exceed $1 billion in annual sales, a feat he first achieved in 2015, then repeated each year through 2018 -- when he notched more than $2 billion.

The New American Home, that annual homage to the latest building products and construction techniques, is struggling towards the finish line.

The showpiece is rolled out annually at the huge National Association of Home Builders convention, the International Builders' Show. The 2023 model is set to make its debut at the show in January. But the home's builder is dealing with the same supply chain issues that every other builder is confronting.

In fact, the project stood practically still for more than three months during the spring while waiting for products to arrive.

"Our biggest challenge has been figuring out when each of the products will show up so we know when to schedule our labor," said lead architect Michael Gardner. "All of our (subcontractors) have been so busy, and because delays have become so common, no one will commit to a specific date until the product is on site."

As the flagship exhibit of the IBS, the house has a hard deadline for completion. So to stay on top of the tight installation schedules, Gardner says his team is following up with vendors weekly, if not daily.

"It's now gotten to the point where it seems like we're more of a logistics company than a construction company," the architect said.

Despite the significant delays, the project is on track for completion this month.

The 7,575-square-foot demonstration house features five bedrooms, seven baths, a spa, a game room, a private office, a state-of-the-art outdoor kitchen, a rooftop deck and a two-tier pool.

Here are some random statistics of note:

-- Nearly 60,000 sales fell through in October, according to the Redfin brokerage firm. That's equal to a record 17.9% of homes that were under contract.

-- Some 37% of small real estate firms couldn't make their rents in October, according to Alignable, an online referral network. Frightening, to be sure, but even more chilling is the fact that 37% is the national average among all small businesses.

-- Small companies may still be the backbone of the homebuilding industry, but they are losing market share to regional and national outfits. Those larger companies increased their market share to a whopping 57.5% in 2021, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

In a change two years in the making, the Federal Housing Administration is now allowing borrowers using FHA-insured financing to secure flood insurance policies from private insurers.

The FHA requires that properties in Federal Emergency Management Agency-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas have flood insurance. But flood coverage is often advisable beyond those areas.

The shift now gives FHA-borrowers an option: They can obtain flood coverage in the private market or through the National Flood Insurance Program. Private policies are usually, but not always, less expensive than those offered through the federal program, and often provide better coverage.

"The new rule is a victory for consumers, for choice, and for flood coverage that will protect more borrowers and property from the No. 1 natural disaster," said Kenny Parcell, president of the National Association of Realtors.

Accepting private policies shifts the risk from Uncle Sam to the private sector. But here's the rub: Private companies must align their policies with NFIP requirements, or else their policies will be rejected, even if they are acceptable for other federally backed loans.

In a perfect world, a couple in the midst of a divorce would sit down together and calmly figure out what to do with their house. But, of course, this is not a perfect world.

Sometimes, in an attempt at a power play, one spouse simply disappears. And in rare cases, both spouses vanish, according to realty agents Sally and David Hanson, the only certified real estate divorce specialists in Wisconsin.

Divorce is an emotionally charged event, the Hansons pointed out on the real estate forum ActiveRain. Often, one spouse will take a hike when they believe the other one is exerting too much control over the situation. Sometimes, they disappear before an agreement is reached on how to sell the house. But once in a while, a soon-to-be ex takes off after the place is sold but before the deal goes to closing.

If the game of hide-and-seek is temporary, and the spouse reappears as if nothing happened, the sale can start moving again. But if they never come back, the transaction can easily fall apart.

That's what happened to agent Margaret Gross of Winnetka, Illinois. In what she recalls as a "terrible memory," her client, the husband, "ghosted on me" and refused to answer Gross' calls. He wasn't upset with her, she says: "It was his way of getting back at his wife."

In some situations, disappearing may be smart. Better to take off and cool off than act out in an aggressive manner, says Dorte Engel of RE/MAX Leading Edge in Bowie, Maryland, who says that one of her colleagues was once threatened with a machete. In another instance, emotions were so high that Will Hamm of Hamm Homes in Aurora, Colorado, had to sit between warring spouses.

One way for agents to deal with angry spouses is not to allow them to be in the same room together. Deal with them one at a time, separately. Another, perhaps better, way is for the couple to hire a skilled divorce real estate listing team and let them do their thing.

But the best way, advises Myrl Jeffcoat of GreatWest Real Estate in Sacramento, California, is to sit down together and discuss the situation as calmly as possible. After all, while the joy of living under one roof may have been lost, you may still be living together as housemates until the place is sold.

Of course, the house may not have to be sold at all. If kids are involved, one spouse will often want to remain in the house with them so their lives are disrupted as little as possible.

"If there are children in the house, please put them and their well-being" above all else, says Jeffcoat. "Doing so will help you focus on things more important than your own discomfort. If the children suffer less distress, it will be easier for all of you."

Whether the house is to be sold or not, it's wise to negotiate calmly about who will get what or how the mortgage will be handled.

If the place is sold, you must decide: How will you divide the proceeds? Will you both get half or will one of you receive more? Or if one of you wants to keep the place, who will pay the mortgage -- both of you in some kind of shared arrangement, or the one who remains? How will utilities and other household expenses, including maintenance, be handled?

If you address these things early on, before one of you gets bent out of shape over something else, it will go a long way toward making your remaining time together as bearable as possible.

It's not easy, of course, as Paul Henderson of Fathom Realty in Tacoma, Washington, can attest. He's had only one amicable divorce situation; he says the rest have been "war zones" in which "cease-fires were out of the question."

If you can't come to some kind of understanding, it may be best for one of you to move out. "In my humble opinion, it's best to vacate and separate rather than endure the consequences of living together," says Kimo Jarrett at Wiki Wiki Realty in Huntington Beach, California. "Emotions become a force of unreasonable and malicious retaliation, increasing stress and anxiety."

Actually, you have to keep your cool until the day you sit down at the settlement table. You can blow off steam after the closing, but don't let your pent-up anger blow the deal at the last minute. Or at any time during the selling process, for that matter.

Years ago, Kat Palmiotti of eXp Realty in Kalispell, Montana, was working with a client seeking to buy a house from a couple who, unbeknownst to her, was in the middle of a divorce. When it came time to close, the wife refused to sign the contract until her soon-to-be ex-husband agreed to pay a "very large" credit card bill that had nothing to do with the house.

"He didn't pay, she didn't sign," says Palmiotti, "and my buyers didn't get the house."

There's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to real estate. Each deal is different, and rarely does one go off without a hitch. But when it comes to divorce, selling a house becomes that much more complicated.

When spouses are calling it quits, the situation calls for an agent who's not only experienced in handling transactions between polarized people, but also one who can offer a little handholding.

Agents who represent one side or the other are often called on to be part therapist, part ambassador, part spokesperson and part legal expert, says Florida broker Raquel Ramirez of Featured Properties International, a specialist in these situations.

"Psychology is a big part of this. Knowledge of the legal process is, too," explains Ramirez. And when there are kids and/or pets involved, or in cases of domestic abuse, "those transactions call for more awareness and finesse," she says.

"When children are involved, agents should work towards providing a sense of safety and familiarity. You don't want to add to the trauma children already feel," says Ramirez.

One thing to consider: You probably won't want a lockbox on your doorknob. It's always best that your agent is present for all showings, whether a divorce is involved or not. But with a lockbox -- even a certified electronic model provided by the local Realtors association -- agents and their clients lose some control over who visits. Someone you don't want in the house could send a "close friend" to the place, posing as a potential buyer.

Ramirez is a Certified Divorce Specialist with the National Association of Divorce Professionals, a multidisciplinary group that includes legal, financial and mental health professionals, as well as realty pros. While NADP is not affiliated with the National Association of Realtors, the group offers classes that are accepted as continuing education credits for NAR members in some states.

An agent should not try to be a therapist or financial advisor, says Liz Becker, NADP's founder and president. But they should know who their clients' other professionals are, and at what stage in the process their clients should be talking to them.

"You can't change the (divorce) laws," Becker says, "but you can change the experience."

According to Becker, who says she has first-hand experience with this situation, many divorcing couples get stuck, unable to make decisions about what to do with the house. That's often because one person or the other is clinging to the idea of the family home. But at that point, Becker points out, "it's no longer a home, it's a house -- a commodity to be split, just like a bank account and other assets."

But at the same time, when children are involved, it's usually best to keep family photos and mementos in place and maintain as much normalcy as possible until the day the house actually changes hands. Consequently, agents who recommend staging the property to appeal to the widest possible pool of buyers could be doing their divorcing clients a disservice.

Selling a "divorce house" can go sideways in any number of ways. Here are a few common problems:

-- Sabotage can be a big issue, says Ramirez. Say one spouse refuses to sign certain papers or allow a home inspector to examine the place, or the other spouse fails to show up at closing. Sabotage isn't always intentional, but if it is, a lawsuit could result.

To avoid such problems, it's important to keep the lines of communication open so that contractual obligations can be met without delay.

-- The person who is making the mortgage payments until the house is sold has a major responsibility. If he or she fails to stay current, it could sink the sale. The same goes for homeowners' association dues, utility payments and other bills.

"In the best-case scenario, it'll simply result in accrued interest and penalties, which will hurt their bottom line," says Ramirez. "In the worst case, it could result in foreclosure. Failed payments also hurt their credit scores, which could hinder the process of purchasing a new property or even renting."

-- How well the house is maintained can mean the difference between receiving full price or taking a big hit after the property has been sitting on the market for too long.

"While this may seem like a simple thing that is relevant to all transactions, it's quite different when you're working with parties who are not on the same page," Ramirez explains. "These things should be addressed early on to avoid deferred maintenance, additional costs, further disputes and missed opportunities."

-- Planning the exit strategy often requires careful coordination. It involves ensuring the soon-to-be ex-spouses have places to go and that they're on track with the schedule. Here, the marital settlement agreement should be as specific as possible, addressing such matters as maintenance costs, listing dates and disbursement instructions.

Next week: Tales from the trenches.