REALTORS go inside people's houses. That's just what we do!
Big ones.
Small ones.
Cute ones.
Ugly ones.
We take elevators and soar to the penthouse condo with a view. We enter small basement apartments.
From berber carpet to laminate to Brazilian cherry hardwoods, we've seen all kinds of flooring. White, black, stainless steel, or somewhere in between, we've been in plenty of kitchens. Stairs? -- oh boy, we get our exercise when we're out showing homes.
Vacant, occupied, homes with tenants, we've seen 'em all.
Brand new construction & historic homes -- they are on the list. So are condos, duplexes, townhouses, single family homes, and grand estates.
Our lockbox key lets us in to see homes on for sale on the market. It also tracks which homes we visit. Today, I found that in the last 90 days, I've entered approximately 150 homes with my lockbox key, equating to about 50 per month.
That's about average. Some months I visit more, some less. It just depends on how many active Northern Virginia or D.C. homebuyers I am working with at the time (and how many homes they want to view).
I've been in the real estate business over 6 years. Thus, at about 50 home viewing a month, I estimate that I've been to about 4000 homes. That doesn't include open houses, broker open houses, or visits where I was invited to view a home by the owner. So, make it about 5,000 homes or thereabouts.
That's a lot of homes by any measure.
How many homes have you been inside besides your own?
Do you want to see more?
Click below to get started on your home search and trust your Northern Virginia real estate search to a Northern Virginia real estate broker who's been in over 5,000 homes in the area.
Ready to sell your home? I'd love to come for a visit and the opportunity to earn your business.
Give me a call at 703-626-0715.
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Brian Block is proud to serve the Northern Virginia real estate market. View his website for the latest listings and homes for sale in Northern Virginia and search all active homes.
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Brian, I've often thought that one unique advantage of being a Realtor is the number of interesting homes that we get to see.
BRIAN S.: I agree. It's always interesting to see different styles of homes, unique ideas, and the way that people decorate and live. It's an honor and a privilege to be a REALTOR.
Brian-I've been in 136 with my Supra Key and probably 100 with combo boxes. Seems like these days I'm in more with combo boxes. Yesterday I was in 6 with combo boxes and only 1 with a supra.
CINDY: Oops. I forgot about all those combo boxes. I've been in a lot of combo box listings lately too. Make it 5,500 homes or so...
Brian - My mom was an agent Waaaay back when there were MLS books. She would look at the pictures - find a "cute" home - and then call a friend.
She'd say, "Sue - I have clients coming to town (one day she WOULD have clients coming to town - right!?) and I need to look at this house. Would you like to go?" Pretty soon - she'd have Sue looking at 3 or 4 houses and they would know what Sue didn't like about HER house!
A few months later - you guessed it - Sue got a new home! Great post!
ELEANOR: That's a great story. Thanks for sharing. Are you sure that your Mom didn't have this planned all along?
I did this a few years ago and if my math is correct 35 years ago I started to sell homes since June 13,1973. About 100 per month for the first 30 years (we had inspection of new listing then) and most recently about 50 per month for the last 5 years. My estimate is 39,000 homes. Now I know why I'm tired the 78,000 times I've gotten in and out of my car.
Now that you mention it, I have seen a ton of homes. I never thought about the count.
I too...didn't think about the count.... wow.
I'd be afraid to count after 13 years, but tons and tons of them. I love looking at houses, big ones, small ones, million dollar ones. That's the exciting part of our business.
TERRY: That's a whole heckuva lot of houses. No wonder you are tired! You started in real estate 19 days before I was born!
RANDY: I think we've all seen a ton!
SALLY: Wow!
MISSY: It's hard to actually get an accurate count and doesn't really serve any purpose, but going to the houses and seeing the variety is indeed an exciting part of the business.
Once again Brian, you have written some unique stuff!
Brian- So your clients can get in your head about what kind of house they would want. Now that (among many other reasons) is the reason to choose you to be their agent.
JEREMY: Thanks for your comment.
KATERINA: Thanks for your comment and compliment. I usually try not to offer too much of an opinion about the house -- after all it's the client's decision on whether they like it or not.
Great post and good point Brian. A consumer sees far less homes than the average agent- so who is the better expert in that scenario? The homeowner knows what made them fall in love with their house and decide to make it a home, the real estate agent knows what will sell the homeowner's house and make a buyer choose it as their home.
REBECCA: You say it very eloquently in your last sentence. Thanks for your comment.
Brain, great post. Wish we can send it out to the seller and make them understand customer is right but we know our product too.
Brian, wow 5,000 is amazing. I give it to you for going into all of those properties. Take some pictures and write a book, because you've had to have had some unique experiences in some of those homes.
Brian, you write so well! And it's probably more than that - some are "Key at desk" and then there are the places that the owners let you in. But, yeah, that's a lot of houses!
Brian - what an insightful way to look at it - it's funny when you extrapolate it out that's a lot of homes!
RITU: Thanks for your comment. This is certainly a post that I can use with both buyers and sellers.
ROB: I'm not sure how amazing 5000 is compared to some of the long-time real estate veterans. I would love to write a book some day. I haven't seen it all, but pretty close to it!
PATRICIA: Thanks for the compliment on my writing. You are right. I forgot also about all those "key at desk" condos! Mark off another 500 or so.
CYNDEE: It is funny to look at it when you really think about how many homes we have entered!
Brian, that's a lot of homes toured. How do you keep track of them all?
Hi Brian,
Wow, when you do the math, we really do see a lot of homes. I love how each one is so unique and totally reflects the character and personality of the owners.
Jo
I love looking at most of the homes... I mean the ones that don't smell, and I'm not embarrased showing.
DUANE: I don't keep actual track, but this is a rough estimate. I wish I could say I have a photographic memory, but I don't.
JO: I love that about the homes too. Thanks for commenting.
JUDY: Yeah, nobody likes the smelly ones!
Brian, no, I was wondering how you keep track of the homes when touring with a buyer? Do you utilize a walk through check list?
Duane,
What I do is take a Buyer Agent Photo album and I upload the albums for each client. That way they can remember the difference. Also they almost never need to go a 2nd time, and if I have overlapping clients that want to see some photoless property... I just pull out an old album and save me (and them) a trip. The process saves several hours all around.
Brian - Even as a Mortgage Guy, I've been in many homes over the years transcending many different lifestyles. It's always neat to see the abode of someone you've met with, talked to, established any sort of relationship with.
That math sounds about right. It's intersting how you end up in the same model of home over and over and see how the same floor plan is decorated differntly by different people.
FRANK: I'm taking the plunge and getting started with the Buyer Agent Photo Album idea. I just posted several of them from this afternoon on your Frankly MLS site & sent them to my client.
JASON: It is always interesting to see the way that people live in their homes.
BOB & CAROLIN: Thanks for your comment. Always interesting to see the same home in a different light.