Tours for Realtors

[missmanors]

Realtors in Hartford, Connecticut swarm through homes each Tuesday, during a non-traditional open house, called brokers' open-house tour. These tours are organized exclusively for the agents.

The agents say that these brokers' tours can be a powerful tool in helping them to market the homes, especially in this slower market with the mounting supply of homes outpacing the demand. Extra effort is needed to distinguish one house from the next. These tours let the brokers see what is coming on the market, which could be overlooked on the multiple listing service when it
first listed.

These tours are also welcomed by the homeowner as they give the home maximum exposure in just a short time, without all the hassle and security risks of having a public open house.

These tours can turn into a vehicle-propelled marathon, with realtors visiting up to two dozen houses in just a few hours. Even though many homeowners offer the realtors refreshments, many of the agents spend only a few minutes poking into closets and charging up and down stairs from one room to the next, before rushing off to the next house on the list, which could be a couple of streets away or even a few towns away.

Listing agents view these tours as a helpful tool as they get feedback from a variety of agents that can be very helpful. An example of this is one agent who somehow missed the fact that a home had all hardwood floors, but the stairs to the second floor had been carpeted. This carpet was beginning to wear and needed to be removed. The listing agent was made aware of this when several of the tour's realtors drew her attention to the matter.

Those agents using the tours say that after seeing a house first-hand, they can clearly tout the features of the home to their clients, saying that listings don't always do a house justice. Also that the tours keep them educated to the market and understanding the current inventory and current trends.

[homealone]

This is good news all around. What one person may miss in a home I am sure that a few of the dozen will notice it and take not of it, just as you posted has happened before. Now if only the economy would recover so that the demand for homes is higher than the number of houses on the market. Though this is still a great idea to get a good amount of exposure of a home for sale.

[flip_it_fast]

This is a great idea. If they don't actually got through the homes, they have no way of knowing anything special about any one home that may set it apart from another. This should be a common occurance everywhere!