Thinking of buying a new home? Then chances are high that you’ve pulled yourself away from your cozy bed on a Sunday to walk the neighborhood looking at open houses. But who actually hosts open houses and who do they represent?

If the house is listed with a real estate agency, the host will be a real estate agent. Not the seller. Not the developer. More specifically, they are an agent there to represent you! Quite often the listing agent (the agent helping to sell the property) will enlist other agents from their team or company to host open houses on their listing. These agents aren’t there to sell you that particular home. They are there to answer questions and, if you’d like, help you find a home – regardless of who is listing it! It’s like walking into a bakery and the person at the counter giving you advice on buying the best damn cake in town, regardless of where it’s sold.

The best practice when going to open houses is to ask who the agent is. Feel free to talk with them, ask them questions, and even see if they know of any other nearby houses you may be interested in! If you’re not already working with another real estate agent, open houses are a great way to meet and “shop” for agents to help you in your search. We’re also there to help people and meet new clients!