A quick look at Open Houses in the Santa Monica real estate market 

Open Houses are a great way to check out the real estate market in Los Angeles.  Not only do they allow you to see the area’s current inventory, but they really allow you to check out the entire market at a glance in terms of price.  For instance very quickly you can get an idea of what prices are in West Los Angeles relative to Santa Monica or Venice.

In our area here in Santa Monica, as well as most of the rest of Los Angeles, Open Houses are mainly held on Saturday and Sunday.  If you only have one day available to check them out, go on Sunday as there are at least twice as many to see as on Saturday.

Generally Open Houses are held usually from 2-5 during the Summer months and then they roll back to 1-4 when there’s less daylight.

Open Houses not only give you the opportunity to see the home but they also give the opportunity to get the back story on the house…like why is it for sale?  Any wiggle room in the price?  Etc.  Your agent at realestate-santamonica.com will be able to help you with this, but if you happen to be on your own, it’s a nice way to get a little extra info on the property.

In addition to the Open Houses on the weekends, there is also what we call in the business “Brokers’ Open.”  This is held on Tuesdays from 11-2.  All the new homes and condos that are hitting the market are previewed for all the agents to see.  This is not only a great way for agents to pre-screen potential homes for their clients, but it’s also a great way for home buyers to get a jump on the competition and check out what’s new. 

Many agents choose not to send clients to Brokers’ Open, but we at realestate-santamonica.com encourage this.  It really is a handy way to see what’s new…and here’s a little secret: many agents provide snacks and drink at these Open Houses, so it’s definitely a great way to spend your lunch hour!

MAKE A PLAN

When hitting Open Houses you need to make a plan!  Yes you read that correctly…make a plan.  I don’t want to turn a fun activity into a chore, but remember that Open Houses are only held for three hours at a time.  If you want to see a number of places, you should get organized!  Too often I’ll take clients out and they get a little side-tracked or want to stop and eat, etc…before you know it those Open houses are open no longer.

Choose a reasonable number of places you want to see during the afternoon and get your driving directions in order.  You do not want to waste precious time getting lost! 

Try to keep moving forward when viewing homes…you don’t want to be back-tracking all over town.  This just eats up your time.   A well-plotted course may take you a few minutes to generate before leaving home, but it will definitely enable you to see more homes.

Well happy hunting and remember that at realestate-santamonica.com, we’re here to help!