No. With virtual tours, google earth, and excellent photography along with consumers having internet access to the listings, this really doesn't seem like a necessary practice like it may have been years ago. We do for out of town clients and sometimes for out of towners coming into town with lots of properties and limited time. Otherwise it is not a good use of our time. -Kasey

It depends - if it's a 'hot house' and likely won't last a day on the market, we look for the first time together.

Otherwise, I'll have a quick look first (INSIDE the home)!

I do not preview listings. I do preview land.

I worked in a relatively small market and went on the broker tour every week so I was always up to speed on what was on the market.  This allowed me to call clients looking for something specific or not waste our time if it wasn't a good fit. 

Previews seem to be passe' however I'm in as many as I can, agents permitting. Virtual tours and photos only give you a small window to what a home may have. Once you see them personally your description can often be all the edge you need to make the sale.

I very well might. If I think there's going to be a problem with the home, I'm going to check it out first so we don't waste time and let them know that there are issues, scratch this off your list unless you're absolutely dying to prove me wrong.. I work with a lot of investors too, like Joe. So I may be the only one to see the house before it's under contract. The buyers will come along later during inspections. That happens a lot and it works fine.

I'm old school, and we always previewed properties.... as a listing agent, I would preview to see what my listings needed to be to  have the competitive edge.... 

It's not something I do on the regular but if the situation called for it- like someone was coming from out of town, had a limited time to look at a limited # of homes, then I would. 

I no longer preview & really never have. Now that we have pics, videos I don't see the need. 

I rarely preview unless there is a specific reason. My area is much to big for me to spend hours driving around to preview homes.  

that is a "it depends" question.  Last time I showed a house I wasn't already familiar with I got there a bit early and looked around myself and then my clients arrived and I was good to go. 

well it kinda depends on my buyers and their expectations. Most want to see any house in spite of my opinions. 

Only if a client asks me too. 

Previewing in-person sounds ideal. But if you're pressed for time - there's probably a Mobile App for that, like our AgentView App. - Tim

If I have the opportunity, absolutely! One of the RE gurus (forget which one) advocated that previewing is a waste of time, but I disagree. It's good to know exactly what's on the market.

In the market I am in today, no previewing.  I generally take the buyers to the home even if there is an open house. 

Sometimes this make sense, other times, the property will be under contract sooner than we can preview and schedule a "real" showing.

I have mostly out of state investors so this is a common practice for me.

I almost never preview in advance unless it's an out of town client who has some very special requirements that are hard to deduce from mls photos.

I focus on the North Scottsdale luxury market.  I preview every home before taking a client out, unless there is some reason I can't.  Many of my clients are business people who place a high value on their time (as do I).  I don't want to waste theirs showing them something that if I had walked it, I would have easily eliminated from the list.  I also want to be able to point out features that I have seen that they will like.

Preview, preview, preview. That's the secret to getting buyers to buy in less time. I can short list up to 25 homes, narrow it down to the top 6 to show a client. Typically, one of those 6 is the one they buy. And it's a much faster process.

If you don't preview and show the wrong houses, or show crap, then the client thinks you don't know your inventory or that you are not meeting their needs.

I do for out of area customers - first is a drive by, if it meets their stds, I do a walk through with pics

Fred Griffin - I do not.

I want to be as much surprised as the buyers when I preview the home with the buyers.

I like to focus my time on listings rather than buyers.

For home buyers I generally refer them.

For forestland buyers it depends on the client and the consulting terms we have agreed on in advance for their land search.

I do for out of town clients.

Yes I do, except the ones that are further out in the country. Then I talk with the listing agent and have a good conversation about the property and forward that information to my buyers. 

There are times when I can and do, but sometimes we need to get into a property right away or it will be gone. I usually recommend buyers drive by the homes of interest.

Sometimes.

For out of towners, all the time. Just did it last Saturday in fact and then Face-time toured it for them.

Fred Griffin Most commercial real estate showings are by appointment only so I do not preview listings.

It would depend if I had the time, or if I think there could be a potential problem, or the photos don't clearly depict the layout, stairs, etc., I may preview it for my client.

It depends, in my area i know most areas. When i have a buyer that needs a specifci style, condition or such, i may preview for out of town buyers

I rely on what is in mls.

If I started previewing, I would never get finished.  We work 5 counties and not a "farm area".

The market moves so fast that chances are that what I look at today will  be gone by monday.

Eve

I encourage the buyer to drive by before we visit.  This is about THEIR opinion, not mine.   

Door #2

Depends...

I look at the MLS.  Many places to far to drive to preview all of them

When I do work with buyers, I make sure they have driven by the house and the neighborhood.   I research with the buyer, the ones we are going to see. By checking tax records, prior listings, photos on all the sites...we can determine what to eliminate and what to keep on the list.

I used to, when homes lasted longer than a few hours.   In the higher price points, I still do, but the photos and tours are really good.

For some buyers I do if they are willing to go into a contract without seeing the home themselves. Mostly the buyers make up their own minds to view a place based on the photos. But often I do know the house, certainly from the outside, sometimes even the inside from other showings or caravans.

In a slow market I preview but not now.

Look at the photos online.  If there are really specific requirements that the photos can't address I will, but 99.999% of the time the MLS is all I need.

About 85% viewers do their own search here. People are wary of agents send them listings thinking they picked home where agents get more commission.

Sometimes I will preview and sometimes time does not permit!

It depends. Usually previews aren't needed.

I have done Previews for Ouy of Town RELO Buyers

Fred,

Always previewed all types of suitable spaces.  And we prepared a spreadsheet of all the stops.  A

Some of each depending on the situation.

This really depends on the buyer.

If they are early in the process and still a bit cloudy regarding what they will buy, I want to expose them to LOTs of real estate.

If the buyers need is urgent, Yes, I will preview the real estate to confirm the pre-requisites are present and in the condition the buyer expects.

When the buyer says. "I don't want to get into another project' I take that seriously.

no

Sometimes I do it and Facetime to the customers. Also, I always send videos to them.