Agent Open started to appear on Paragon’s Message of the Day a little over a year ago and it’s been gaining popularity slowly but steadily ever since.
Sharon Greysen of Sutton Group-West Coast Realty in South Surrey White Rock, who is sold on Agent Open says, “I think it’s a good vehicle for REALTORS® because you can preview a property for your buyers, or you can invite your buyers to view a property they might be interested in, without having to make specific appointments.”
The other advantage of Agent Opens is that you view the specific property types you are looking for, whereas on an MLS® Tour you are taken to a number of properties many of which may have no interest for you at that time. As well, Realtors can schedule their own area tour.
“I think it’s a great service for our clients,” says Greysen who says viewing properties in person has advantages because an agent can learn a lot from an in-person, on-site visit, compared with only viewing listing photos online.
“It gives you very good intel,” says Greysen, “because you get to see it, smell it, and observe the neighbourhood and get a better sense of a place.
It’s also convenient that Agent Open means your sellers don’t have to wait for their property to get on to a tour, which could be one or two weeks away.
She also points out that although weekend open houses draw bigger crowds, many of those visitors may not be serious buyers. Since Agent Opens are held mid-week, they have less open house competition, and may be more likely to attract serious buyers.
Where and how it works
Some Realtors may prefer to restrict their Agent Opens to other agents so that they can talk shop and network among themselves. But it is at the discretion of the listing agent whether an Agent Open is promoted to the general public. Posting both as a Tour and as an Open House means everyone can see it online.
As of this week, there are three areas in the FVREB that are using Agent Open: Surrey Panorama Ridge/Sullivan, South Surrey White Rock and the newest one Surrey Central. More will be added as long as members indicate their interest in having Agent Open in their area. Note however, that there doesn’t have to be one running in your area for you to hold an Agent Open at your listing. Here’s how it works on Paragon.
Finding Agent Opens
Scheduled Agent Opens can be found on the Paragon home screen in two places:
If your area has Agent Open already, the list can be found in the Market Monitor by clicking on Tour.
If you are looking outside of your area, you can also click on the Search button to the right of the Home button at the top of the Paragon window.
- Find Search>Specialty Search>Tour and Open House. Select Tour and Open Houses. A criteria window will open where you can select your Search Preferences (Date range, Area, Community, etc.).
- Select your date or date range and then select Tour. Press search and a spreadsheet will open with the list of properties on tour on the date(s) chosen.
- If you click on the MLS number, Paragon will create a brief information sheet with a photo and an inset map of the open house location with basic details and the Realtor’s contact number.
- A full Realtor Report can be found by clicking on the green button to the far right marked Reports and the Details>Full Realtor. You can also select tour spreadsheets, thumbnails, and 5-up public.
Book an Agent Open
- Setting up your own Agent Open from Paragon is easy. Go into Listings>Maintain.
- Choose the listing you want to add on Tour and Select an Action – Select Add>Edit Tour
If you also want to add an Open house, use Edit Open. Only the Open will show on REALTOR.ca