“Open House Viewings Are Peak Toxicity” — Homebuyer Rants on Common Realtor Practice

Fred Asquith (@fredasquith), a prospective homebuyer, aired his grievances with open house viewings of properties, stating that it places buyers in an "awkward" position where they have to pretend to be polite, but there's an understanding that they've been placed in a competition of sorts for this home they're interested in getting.

He posted about his ire for open house viewings on TikTok and Facebook.

"As if the London housing market wasn't toxic enough, they're getting you to view the house all at the same time, all the applicants," he said. "And you all stand outside waiting for the agent to come out and it's awkward and you ask each other questions like oh how long have you been looking and have you viewed any places?"

Fred stated that there's a certain level of passive-aggressive questioning that takes place between the numerous folks who show up to the same showing all together and that it becomes a sort of Hunger Games–style environment, except with people now being put into a position where they have to vie for this potential home they're interested in.

"They're passive aggressively saying get the f--- off this flat," he snarls into the camera before continuing, "then the agent comes out [and says] OK come in; you all shuffle in like sheep and the worst part is you're all duplicates of each other, 'cause you're all looking at the same flat, so you're probably the same kind of income, same kind of demographic, same age, same life, probably same hobbies," he said.

According to Fred, being put in one of these situations only makes someone feel like they're a "f----- stereotype," and folks can't help but be hit with this realization once they're put into a mass home viewing scenario.

Fred went on to say that the whole ordeal is enough to turn a person off to the entire home-buying process: "Do you know what? I don't even want this flat I don't even wanna conform to this stereotype that I'm clearly in. But then at the same time I'm watching them walk around, touch everything, and I'm like get off my s--- 'cause it's gonna be my s---, mate."

He then lambasted the types of questions being asked by rival homebuyers: "What type of boiler is it?" he says as another interested party, before hitting them with a hypothetical response highlighting how competitive he's getting over the house: "You don't need to know mate, leave! It's my place!"

He continued the joke in the caption of the video, writing: "How about we fight for it in the shared garden."

And the influencer added in the video's comments section: "This is a diatribe about the phenomenon of open house viewings, from the perspective of one I just went to as part of my own flat search."

He continued his rant on the "toxicity" of the situation he and other homebuyers are put in when they're asked to partake in a simultaneous viewing of a property: "Here I discuss the toxicity of bunching in 25 duplicates into the same tiny flat, making them watch each other touch everything, step on the carpet in their shoes and generally ask questions that make you feel defensive about losing your chance to get the flat."

Fred further averred that he has little love lost for these open house viewings, even if they are popular in other parts of the world: "I’ve heard open house viewings are big in Europe, particularly Berlin, but I’d never been to one myself. May the odds be ever in your favor if you go to one of these. Still waiting to hear back on my offer."

When it comes to hating on open house viewings, Fred might not be alone; according to Investopedia, there are plenty of other people who dread going to these types of showings for prospective real estate ventures.

In fact, the outlet cited data from the National Association of Realtors after stating that only 7 percent of people who purchased a home did so at an open house viewing. The outlet even outright suggests that folks who are considering selling a property may want to skip an open house altogether.

"Open houses may not be the most effective tool for selling your home because research shows that fewer homebuyers are visiting open houses. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), just 7 percent of buyers found the home they bought by visiting an open house or seeing a yard sign," Investopedia wrote.

The same piece continued, "Not surprisingly, a majority of buyers used websites or apps in their home search, and more than half (51 percent) ended up finding their new home online before buying it. That statistic jumps to 61 percent for twenty-somethings. Here are six reasons why you might want to skip the open house when selling your home."

There does seem to be a benefit for open houses, but it seems to be more for the agents selling the homes than the owner of the homes themselves: "Open houses are supposed to attract potential buyers, but often, all they do is bring new clients to real estate agents. That’s because unrepresented buyers frequently go to open houses, which means potential new business for an agent," the article notes.

How do you feel about open house viewings? Have you ever found a place to rent or own through one? Or are you just struggling to stay afloat after inflation has gone out of control and it's now more difficult to purchase a home than it was for potential buyers during the Great Depression?