Open houses have become somewhat controversial among Realtors®. There are safety concerns for those who do open houses. Open houses are not needed to sell a Seaport condo. In fact, most Boston condos that are for sale will never have an open house.
Sometimes homeowners do not want open houses but they believe they are needed to sell the house. Most homebuyers find their next home on the internet and or through a real estate agent, not at an open house.
Boston condo buyers who wait for an open house to tour a home are missing out. Only a small percentage of homes for sale are held open each week. With the low inventory of homes for sale, it is best to ask your real estate agent to set up a private showing.
Open houses are an opportunity for Realtors to prospect. It is a great opportunity to collect names, phone numbers, and email addresses which are the lifeblood of the real estate business.
Attending open houses is wonderful for neighbors and for people who may eventually buy a house. It is shopping and there are people who love to shop.
If you are a homeowner and do not want to have open houses just let your agent know. If you believe that open houses are necessary and an essential part of the sales process let your agent know that too.
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Pre-pandemic, open houses were seen as a great helper to get a Boston condo sold, in some markets they were seen as a crucial tool for selling a home. At the start of the pandemic, many things shut down to keep large crowds from gathering and people from coming in contact with strangers in hopes to greatly slow the spread of virus germs. This physical distancing caused a halt to in-person open houses. Now that things are opening back up some Boston real estate agents are offering open houses with safety precautions while others have opted to move to stick with the creative alternate…