Realtor Patrick Hatfield spent the last weekend in February welcoming strangers into his clients’ Old City townhouse. It was his first open house of the pandemic.Instead of food, he offered hand sanitizer to guests, who wore masks. Guests took fliers about the property instead of thumbing through thicker shared materials. To the soundtrack of Hatfield’s Spotify playlist, about three dozen groups walked through the house that weekend, a little more than typical before the pandemic.
Attending an open house or private showing used to be the only way to examine the interior of a home beyond carefully angled, static pictures. But during the pandemic, more real estate agents have embraced virtual and 3D tours., they can still use them to eliminate options and cut down on the number of trips to potential homes.
One of her early clients was a pregnant mother with a toddler who spent a cold day at the playground asking when she could come back home. One person had been to the open house. Barnshaw felt awful. Real estate agents market a property that has an open house even more than an everyday listing, since they’re trying to attract foot traffic and get more potential buyers to see the property, she said. Open houses can be a good option when a property is not selling.