By Mark Pruner
Starting in March and continuing through July we will have dozens of open houses in Greenwich. The record for most open houses in a weekend is around 168, but that was back in 2019, when we had 600 single family homes on the market. This week we only have 85 house listing plus another 21 condo and co‑op listings. Last week we had 29 open house with 13 on Saturday and 16 on Sunday. We also have open houses for rentals, condos, co‑ops and even land (though I’m not really sure you can all it an open house, if there is no house.)
Rise of Saturday Open Houses
Over the last decade, we have seen a rise in Saturday open houses, when previously open houses were almost exclusively on Sunday. You might expect that agents having open houses on Saturday would also have another open house there on Sunday, but you would only be half right. Of the 29 open houses last week, 12 of them were unique with the majority of unique open houses on Saturday. This means that if you are serious, you may need to reserve time from noon to 4 pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
While open houses in Greenwich are from 12 – 4 pm, most are only for two hours; noon to 2 pm, 1 – 3 pm is popular, and we have 2 – 4 pm. (I do 1 – 4 pm, since if I’m going to all the work to set up for an open house, I’m happy to stay for the extra hour.)
More High-End Open Houses
We are also seeing more open houses above $5,000,000. These high‑end open houses were rare as high‑end sellers didn’t think that people with the ability to buy a $5M+ house would just walk in their door. It turns out that they actually do show up and even make offers. As at all price ranges, the buyers’ agents often have highlighted the open houses for these buyers to see.
The other reluctance for high‑end sellers holding open houses is that they think a lot non‑buyers will show up just to walk around a beautiful house that they can’t afford. That very rarely happens. Anyone attending an open house has to sign‑in and leave a fair amount of identifying information.
Practically, the only ones who do that are your neighbors, who have always wondered what the inside of your house looks like. Having your neighbors show up is actually a good thing, as they usually are enthusiastic about where you both live and are likely to enthusiastically endorse your house to their friends.
Check out the Neighborhood First
What most people initially do when they go to look for a house is to look at a bunch of pictures online and go see the houses that look nice while listening to their GPS telling them where to go. The better plan is to narrow down your hunt to the neighborhoods you’d like to live in. The perfect house in the imperfect neighborhood is not the perfect purchase.
The first time you go out to look at open houses you want to put your phone down and look at the neighborhood as you approach the open house. Is this a street that would work for you and your family? Check out the traffic in the neighborhood and the number of kids around. Are there basketball goals facing the street meaning that it’s a slow traffic area? Are the houses too close together or too far apart for your preferences? Is it close to the train or restaurants or parks or beaches or riding trails? Only you can say.
Bargains with Poor Curb Appeal
As you approach the house see what you’re feeling about your first impression, the so‑called curb appeal. It’s great to have a house that everybody likes, however if you’re looking for a bargain one of the things you want to look for is negative curb appeal, because it means that there is less competition for that house. A lot of people will move on before they’ve even gotten inside the house. When there is not much to buy, you want to think creatively and beyond just what you can see now. Bad curb appeal can be fixed.
Verify the House Number, Not Just the Sign
Another important factor is to make sure that you’re at the right house. If you’ve done your homework, you have the list of open houses with the street addresses. Many years ago, when I was getting started as a Realtor, there were two driveways right next to each other with a Realtor open house sign in the middle. I went down the wrong driveway, parked, walked up to the house, stepped inside the front door and said hello. I quickly realized that the open house was actually the next house. So, check the number on the mailbox and on the front door to make sure that you’re at 44 and not 46.
Check-in with the Agent, Get More Info
Once you get to the open house there is no need to ring the front bell, walk in and announce yourself by simply saying hello. Usually, the agent will be right there, unless they’re showing the house to another perspective buyer. Most times, the signup sheet is in the kitchen so head over there, sign in, and say hello to the agent. The agent wants to sell the house and is usually a font of information about the house, the neighborhood and the town. If the agent has food don’t take it now. You don’t want to walk around dropping chocolate chip cookie crumbs all over it. This is particularly true if your children are with you.
What you do want to do is to get the listing sheet that has all of the stats on the house. If the house looks good, also get the glossy brochure. Also, if you’re touring the open house for a spouse or a child in a remote location who wants photos and videos, ask before you take any pictures to send them or fire up your FaceTime app. I had a couple that had a small dog in a shoulder bag and that’s fine, however you don’t want to walk around with your pets or small inquisitive children who are opening every drawer and touching every little knickknack on the table.
Good Touches & Bad Touches
Ideally, the owner should have put away many of their small items, however that’s not always the case. Feel free to take a look, however if it is personal property, (those items that can be picked up) do not touch. Feel free to open closets and kitchen cabinets, do not open drawers in the furniture.
Dressing for Open Houses
You want to dress for what you are planning to look at. If it’s a rainy day, you’ll probably need to take off your shoes or wear booties at each house. This is not the time to wear the knee‑high boots with a dozen buttons. Also, you may be going up tight spiral staircases or looking under various parts of the house so dress appropriately. You don’t need to dress fancy, but you do need to dress like you can afford the house and take the nice car.
Looking at Land Listings
You want to wear the right the clothes for the property that you are looking for. Last year we were showing a land listing and the male showed up with a large, pungent cigar and Ferragamo’s, the female showed up with pencil pants and high heels. For most open houses this was fine, but this was 4 acres of raw land with no house and no trails. The poor woman followed behind the cigar on tip toes. If you are looking for land, boots work better than dress shoes.
Look Beyond the Staging and the Paint
Staging is a huge benefit for sellers and can give you a feel of what the house could look like when you move your stuff in. However, it does not sell with the house. At an open house, ignore the furniture, pictures and throw rugs. Do try to imagine your stuff in the house. (This is also true of bad furnishings. I once went to an open house and there was a painting of the wife naked across forest floor. It made it hard to get a good feel of that room.)
If you like the house, swing back to the kitchen, take the brochure if you haven’t before, and talk to the agent. Make notes and head out to the next house. If you are hungry, now is a good time to pick up the cookies and candy. Searching for the perfect house can work up quite an appetite.
During the week, I often don’t have time to get to the realtor open houses since I have my own client/s open houses, so on a weekend when I’m free, I’ll go out to the public open houses. I still remember the comment I heard as I was walking down the hall of lady who said, “Harvey we can’t live here the primary bedroom is oxblood red”. She was correct, the bedroom had been painted in oxblood red, a short‑lived phenomenon of a couple of decades ago. Once you own the house you can paint walls and even take out entire walls to make the house accommodate your family and the way you want to live.
How is Your Competition
Some other things to check out at an open house is just how busy it is. Are you one of four groups touring the house at the same time? You can often look at the sign‑up sheet , particularly if it’s later in the open house and see whether you’re looking at three or four or 20 or 30 groups that have come through. If it’s the first open house and more than 20 groups have come through, talk to your agent for more info, and be prepared to make a quick offer in this market.
Bad can be Good for Bargains
If you are looking for a bargain go for the bad, that has an underlying good. We do have listings with bad photographs rather than professional photos. The house may well be a horrible teardown, but it may also just be poorly photographed.
If you are looking for a good deal, look for poor photography, bad curb appeal, fixable issues like mold, asbestos and cramped floor plans. See the potential that other buyers can’t see. Call your agent about these properties, they can give you a much better feel about these “poorly marketed” properties.
Also, don’t go see what you can’t afford. You can get some ideas of what you might do with your new home in these more expensive houses, but if your budget is for 3,000 s.f. and you look at 6,000 s.f. house, the properties you can afford are going to look dwarfed. Focus on reality, which is what the vast majority of buyers do.
Open houses are a great way to find both a house and a neighborhood where you want to live. With a little planning you can get a lot out of your time and have a good time.
If you are looking in Greenwich Connecticut and would like to subscribe to my weekly open house list and market reports feel free to send me an email and I’ll add you to the email list.
Mark Pruner is a founder of the Greenwich Streets Team at Compass. He can be reached at 203-817-2871 or mark.pruner@compss.com.
