To Seriously Buy a House,
How Successful Will I Be
Just Visiting Open Houses?

When you seriously want to buy a house, the practice of visiting open houses is not a bad way to start. But it's doubtful you'll succeed in finding a home this way. It's a ...

Good Place to Begin

... learning about how to buy a house. Exploring various neighbourhoods and open houses will provide you the opportunity to zero in on a specific area. And seeing lots of homes, up close and personal, will help you clarify your particular wants and needs.

You'll be able to check out various home styles, sizes, floor plans, features and price ranges. So, you'll get to know what your money may buy. It'll also give you a chance to meet and question more than one REALTOR®.

But remember - the attending real estate agent represents the seller. If you want to find a REALTOR® to represent you, to protect your interests, to guide you through the process, I suggest that when you visit an open house, tell the agent that you have your own representation already. Actually, it would be a good idea anyway to...

Get Busy Finding a REALTOR®

The open house agent will likely still show you through the home, and answer questions. Or they may politely ask you to book an appointment for a private viewing with your own real estate agent because they may feel uncomfortable communicating with a client under contract with another brokerage.

At the very least, you can expect to receive courteous customer service.

It happens, but it's rare for a listing agent to sell their own listing from an open house. However, it's considered a great way to market a home. When a visitor drops in, they may just be nosy neighbours or out for a Sunday drive, seeking decorating ideas or just looking for something to do on their day off. And people are often attracted to properties that are beyond their financial means. They'll tour open houses completely out of their price range. Sometimes, they just want to dream.

A REALTOR® sometimes holds an open house simply to appease a seller, to look busy for their client. But open houses also provide a real estate agent with an opportunity to meet, and hopefully connect, with buyer prospects. They hope to convert these visitors into home buyer clients. And if they fail to buy the house on open, they can sell them something else that more suits their wants, needs and financial capabilities.

The challenge to the open house method of finding a home is that ...

It's V-e-r-y Time Consuming

... and sometimes frustrating. And you may be exposed to pressure sales tactics. After all, REALTORS® hold open houses, hoping to sell that property for their seller client.

In an active market, especially for hot listings, during the lag time before an ad appears, someone else who was working with a real estate agent, viewed it right away because the agent was automatically informed by their search engine when the new listing was uploaded into the local MLS® system. Also, you'll likely miss many opportunities to see homes that sell quickly because they're very sharp, very well priced, in a high demand area or any combination of these reasons. And because of a quick sale, the agent simply didn't have the chance to hold an open house!

If you respond to an open house advertised in the newspaper, you may find upon your arrival that there's a big sold sign on the lawn, or the seller has already accepted a conditional offer.

Either Way - Not Good For You

So, it's a clear case of 'the early bird catches the worm'. If you're relying on open houses, it may be awhile before you buy a house.

As I said - visiting open houses is a good way to begin, but if you seriously want to buy a house, it's a better idea to find a real estate agent first, and have a buyer agency agreement in place as early as possible.

You'll Usually Not Regret Hiring a REALTOR® up front.

If you want to buy a house, in Canada, REALTOR.ca is a good place to begin. In the USA, visit REALTOR.com.

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