Open houses have always been an important part of residential sales in New York City, but they’ve recently taken on a new significance due to the severe shortage of inventory in the city, brokers said.
Often, desperate buyers are now packing into open houses, making on-the-spot offers and replacing a once staid experience with an atmosphere of frenzied competition. That means listing brokers often have only one shot to get the highest possible price for their listing. Buyers’ brokers, meanwhile, must navigate this ultra-competitive environment, with buyers eyeing each other suspiciously and even trying to prevent each other from making bids. Read the full story from the September 2013 issue here.