Why We Love Having Neighbors at Open Houses

I’m working at an open house today at a new listing we have for a townhouse in San Anselmo. Nothing has been sold in this 13-unit development since 2000, and it’s easy to see why. Quiet, two blocks from downtown, and it has attached parking. Learn more about it here.

One thing that stikes me everytime we do an open house are the neighbors. Not just  how many come (don’t worry, everyone does it!) , but how many apologize for doing so! “I’m just a neighbor,” they’ll say.

We LOVE having neighbors come to open houses. Why?

First and most importantly, they may buy the house! We sold a house in Corte Madera this year, a beautiful old three bedroom in Chapman Park, to one of the neighbors. It was Mother’s Day, they were out taking a walk, and saw the sign. They had no intention of buying a new house, but fell in love with this one. They loved the Chapman Park neighborhood, and this gave them more of what they wanted without leaving the area.

Second, neighbors usually love the neighborhood, and they’re quite proud of it. We’ve had numerous occasions where the neighbors start talking to prospective buyers, and they sell the neighborhood better than we do. As well they should - they live their every day, know it well, and have more credibility about it than we do.

Finaly, neighbors want people like them in the neighborhood. They have lots of friends and relatives who may want to move, and if they like the house, they’ll tell them about it. When selling a house the main job of the realtor is to make as many people aware of it as possible, so we often will hold a special open house, one hour prior to the regular house, and invite the neighbors to come. They’re dying to see it anyway, and it’s a great chance for them to come in and see if they like it.

So if you’re a neighbor, and you see one of our signs out for an open house, come on in - we’d love to have you see the house!

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