To all the agents in the house,
Do you want your job to return to what it is before the pandemic?
This week, the California Department of Public Health announced that for the first time since early March 2020, open houses are legal. Caravan rides, agents crawling into a van and touring on-market properties, are also making a comeback.
In other words, even in California, arguably the strictest state in the country regarding covid-related restrictions, agents can now do things like they used to as long as they wear a mask and have hand sanitizer.
But some agents I speak with are less than thrilled to stage the obligatory Sunday open house, a cultural staple of residential real estate, and the (ahem) name of this newsletter.
"It was more efficient not to have an open house," said one Pismo Beach agent.
The agent uses Zillow Premier Agent, and said that he started to prefer such online lead generations. Unlike the breezy affability of an open house, the agent felt he can cut to the chase: Are you pre-approved to take out a mortgage? What is your price range?
Agents across the country have also voiced ambivalence about returning to their brokerage office. "A brokerage office has become a thing of the past," said one Hawaii agent.
To be sure, this is not a universal opinion. "Having an office to meet clients is far more professional than having to meet them at Starbucks," opined a San Antonio, Texas, broker.
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