- Once a primary tool for real estate agents looking to sell a home, experts say the traditional open house has lost its influence in the Internet age. Most buyers today conduct their preliminary research at home – reviewing online photos, virtual tours, and a home’s layout – and arranging for private showings of the properties they’re interested in.
- Many REALTORS® report that open houses rarely attract interested, qualified buyers. During the boom times, it was more common for buyers to make offers at an open house because they were worried that another buyer would beat them to it. But with real estate sales slow in most markets, the urgency is no longer there.
- Buyers who visit an open house without their REALTOR® could be setting themselves up for problems. Listing agents – the REALTORS® who are representing the seller – have a fiduciary responsibility to represent the sellers’ best interests, which, not surprisingly, are often in conflict with the buyers’ best interest.