We are working with several Los Angeles home buyers who have rigid work schedules. Successfully buying in a seller’s market is difficult when a buyer is unable to view homes during scheduled open houses. In a seller’s market lockboxes aren’t prevalent as they are often unnecessary. Most homes (other than luxury homes) are selling within the first two weeks.
The open house schedule is an important marketing tool. Most real estate agents have at least two open houses. Typically a broker’s open house (often potential home buyers come as well) and a public open house. Depending on the community, Harb & Co. typically have three to four open houses. For instance for our listing at 1125 Lavender Lane in La Canada, we initially had four open houses. Two for Brokers (Foothill & Pasadena caravan) followed by a Saturday and Sunday open houses.
Although open houses can be inconvenient for a home seller, they allow some structure. This somewhat rigid schedule gives the seller some downtime when their home can be lived in and not ready for a last minute showing. Several years ago, I was working with Pasadena buyers. The husband was getting his master’s degree and attending school every other weekend. Some homes he was able to view during his lunch hour on Thursdays Broker’s Caravan. But there were some open house schedules that he simply could not meet. About half of these listings did not allow outside showings so he couldn’t view these homes.
Some sellers and listing agents will accommodate these off showings while others will not. It depends on both the listing agent and the seller. In a seller’s market, it may not be necessary to inconvenience the home seller more than the open house times. Successfully buying in a seller’s market requires a lot of flexibility and patience.
