Open houses are central to the real estate market, and have a huge impact on the market’s status and profitability. Open houses are great tools for real estate agents as well as sellers, but they can also be great tools for homebuyers…but only if you get everything out of them that you can. Do you know how to get the most value from your open house endeavors?
Visit homes in your area – even if they might not be your dream home
This may seem like a waste of your time, but in reality, going to open houses in your new potential neighborhood gives you valuable insight on the current market. Perhaps there is a house in the area that is in the same price range as your dream house, but has a few better (or worse) features – you can use this information to your advantage.
Watch other buyers’ reactions to the home
Other buyers are getting an impression of the home just like you are – but what are they doing? Are they quickly walking in the home and back out? Or lingering and asking the real estate agent additional questions about the listing? Chances are, if a lot of potential buyers are interested, it’s a hot listing.
Ask questions
Ask the real estate agent any questions you may have about the property. They are a direct line of communication between you and the seller, and they know more about the home than you can pick up from the listing.
Find an agent
Open houses give you the ability to start creating relationships with your local realtors. If you don’t have a realtor in the area yet, visiting open houses can allow you to engage and meet with various agents that you may decide to work with. Open houses are the perfect environment for making new relationships with potential agents because they are low pressure, informal and they give you a chance to see the agent working in their environment.
Source: Zillow