If you are in the market for a new home, one of the best ways to collect information about available properties is to attend open houses. Open houses are a great way to explore the local market. They allow potential homebuyers to find out more about neighborhoods of interest. They also provide opportunities for homebuyers to ask detailed and clarifying questions about those neighborhoods and homes.

Every open house can function as a case study of sorts, providing a more intimate look than just seeing photos on paper or online. An open house allows homebuyers to evaluate details that help in the assessment of the property and its location, relative to their needs and desires. Each open house is a chance for people to more clearly define their wants and needs in a home and compare them to what a given property has to offer.

Open houses also serve to help people by caging expectations. They do this by focusing and refining the view of the homebuyer, which helps to cut through appearances for a clearer, more accurate impression of a property.  Further, they offer opportunities for hopeful homebuyers to inquire more directly about the physical condition of a house; these opportunities help homebuyers scrutinize a property’s positive and negative structural details, from the functionality of usable space (e.g. layout) to damages (e.g. foundation cracks, etc.) that could lead to devaluation of the property. Open houses also provide a preview of the overall care and maintenance standard of the neighborhood.

Open houses are also important because they expose homebuyers to the selling approach(es) used by real estate agents. That is, they help people understand how listing prices are decided. Open houses shed significant light on factors that influence pricing—pricing that is directly impacted by the location of the property; the quality of education available in local school districts; the proximity of the property to transportation (e.g. highways, bus routes, etc.); the community conveniences and resources (e.g. neighborhood amenities like swimming pools, shopping and entertainment venues, public parks and recreation areas, etc.). 

Another way that open houses are valuable is that they give homebuyers the ability to assess the privacy and quietness of a neighborhood. The sizes of the property lots and vicinity to neighbors impacts these things and could influence a potential homebuyer: people have to consider whether they can live with being in constant view of neighbors as they come and go or even just spend time in the yard, as well as if they would be willing to live with barking dogs, or loud neighbors and boisterous children playing outside, or even traffic noise from any busy roads near the house. 

If you are in the market for a new home in Corpus Christi, Texas, or the surrounding areas, do not hesitate to contact any real estate specialist at  WEICHERT, REALTORS® – The Place of Houses. This real estate agency is home to a team of professionals with decades of experience that allows for exceptional guidance to their clients. Contact WEICHERT, REALTORS® – The Place of Houses so the professional real estate team can assist you as you go through the process of researching communities and houses listed for sale.

 

Written by: Erika Mehlhaff