Broker’s Open House – what is it?

Broker’s Open House is one of the most important open houses a listing agent/seller can hold.  They are held during the week and during specific hours that are set by the local board of realtors.  For instance, in Redondo Beach, Hollywood Riviera and Torrance, Thursdays from 12-2 is the traditional time for broker’s to host their broker’s opens.  In Palos Verdes areas – Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes and Palos Verdes Estates – broker’s host their listings open on Tuesdays from 11-1.  The other main South Bay broker’s open house day is Friday and that is for the Hermosa & Manhattan Beach areas….that is also usually from 12-2.  It’s nice when the broker’s make it from 12-2:30 (or 1:30 in PV area) as sometimes their is a lot of area to cover in a short amount of time.   That extra half an hour can make a big difference.

Real estate agents advertise their broker’s opens lots of ways…but the most economical (free) and the easiest way for agents to find out what houses are open is right through our Multiple Listing Service.  We can easily load the open house times into the MLS and it’s easy to check that morning for the Open House List.  Of course, there are other means of advertising that work and many of us employ all the ways in order to attract as many agents as possible to the new listings.  The Easy Reader has a free open house listing for agents…you have to know what your plan is though by Tuesday at noon.  (PV agents never use any other way of advertising their Broker’s Opens though besides the MLS.  That makes life so easy, I’ll tell ya.  Wish the Beach Cities would jump on that boat.)  Professional Flyer Service hands out flyers that they drop off  for free at the different brokerages – seems like a waste of paper (and trees) to me.   Their is a fee for advertising w/ PFS.   Some of the title reps have a service they provide (also gratisse) to help in earning their client’s business….Jim McFarland w/ Southland Title does a great job of this.  And lastly, the Beach Reporter has a popular open house guide, especially for the Hermosa & Manhattan Beach properties.   I find it highly disorganized and hard to read though.  And I believe they used to offer this service of listing broker’s open houses for free and now they only will do it if you advertise in their publication. 

Agents typically provide lunch or snacks for the hungry agents that drive around from house to house checking out the new inventory.  Good agents do this on a regular basis to keep up with the new inventory.  Agents who specialize in certain areas typically just go on certain days.  You do tend to see the same agents over and over and these are typically the ones that are doing business….this is why they are doing business.  They are out working.  It is also a great way to network with other agents and discuss what may be coming on the market or how to improve listings or pricing strategies.  It is very important to get good feedback from the realtors that you work with.  You never know when they are going to be the agent you are working with to make a deal come together and it helps to get along.