Open houses are out, virtual tours are in: the 'new normal' for home buying and selling

• Even after restrictions lift, open houses may be less common.
• Virtual and 3D tours are increasingly playing a role in homebuying.
• Real estate agents are more closely vetting potential buyers.

For potential homebuyers in Ventura County, the days of spending a leisurely weekend afternoon casually visiting several open houses may be over, even as some coronavirus restrictions begin to lift. 

While real estate is considered an essential industry, there have been many changes to how buying and selling happens in the county as real estate agents adjust to health guidelines.

Open houses are out, virtual tours are in. And some agents are vetting buyers to make sure they're serious and actually have the funds to purchase a home before they can even step inside. These steps attempt to minimize health risks by limiting in-person showings to serious buyers who are already familiar with the home and have the means to buy. 

"You can't ignore the fact that people love going out and physically looking at homes. We live in Southern California where the weather's nice in the summertime, and there are some beautiful properties in our county so people enjoyed just going out and looking," said B.J. Ward, broker and owner of Comfort Real Estate Services in Ventura. 

"But I don't think that will be the case moving forward. People will use more discretion with what they look at, do more research online and have more conversations with their Realtor before physically going into someone else's home."

Open houses, which allow anyone to see the inside of a home, could go by the wayside or be significantly curtailed. At last month's National Association of Realtors Legislative meetings, NAR's chief economist predicted that the end of traditional open houses and increased virtual tours are among the changes that will continue even after the current pandemic. 

Jose Luiz Morales, a local real estate agent with RE/MAX Gold Coast Realtors, now places signs at his listings that allow buyers to instantly access a 3D tour of the property by texting a phone number. He thinks providing 3D tours makes the homebuying process more efficient.

More:Serious buyers only: Local agents require virtual tours before showing homes

"I think it's actually better than the open house because it's instant, it's when the buyer wants to see the home rather than waiting until Saturday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. It goes with the trend of people wanting stuff now, and still gives the consumer what they want, which is a tour of the property, without scheduling a visit just to see if they like the floor plan," he said. 

The virtual tours also have a secondary effect: weeding out non-serious buyers. Before someone tours a property, they now must view a 3D or virtual tour first. 

"We're making sure the people who are actually coming to the house are more serious buyers and are somewhat familiar with what the floor plan is like. In the past, we just scheduled a visit to the property and either they liked it or they didn't. Now only more serious buyers are touring," said Morales. 

Carolyn Triebold with Dilbeck Real Estate in Camarillo says she can see 3D tours remaining as standard practice. She asks potential buyers whether they've done a 3D tour before showing them a home in person, a practice she would "100 percent" continue after the pandemic. 

Triebold doesn't think open houses will completely disappear, but notes that homeowners may hesitate to allow large groups of people in their living space. 

"I don't know if I see open houses going by the wayside. I think you might still see standard open houses going on in vacant homes, but there may be a slowdown in occupied homes," she said. 

Coronavirus:Ventura County's real estate market sees supply, demand drop

In addition to requiring a virtual tour, agents are vetting potential buyers in other ways before bringing them into a seller's home. Morales says agents are "digging into the buyers more" during this period of frequent layoffs and financial uncertainty.

This includes asking lenders to call potential buyers' employers to ask about the possibility of a layoff before sellers move forward on an offer. The goal is to avoid moving forward with a buyer who might be laid off or lose hours during the escrow process. 

"Sometimes now the best offer isn't the highest price, it might be an offer that's slightly lower but maybe that buyer has higher job security, or is an essential worker or works in an industry that's more recession-proof," said Morales. 

Ward is also doing more to vet potential buyers, including requiring proof of funds and a prequalifying letter for a mortgage. 

"Typically we would require this before an offer, but now before a showing I'm requiring buyers' agents to send over proof of funds and their prequalifying letter — just to show that they're serious and not looky-loos," he said. 

Exactly how much of these changes stick around after the pandemic is the "million-dollar question," according to Ward.

"Outside of regulation, it's going to be what people are comfortable with," he said. "Sometimes you have up to 30 people at an open house. I think whether we're allowed to or not I just don't think that people are going to be comfortable with that anymore."

Erin Rode covers housing, real estate and development for The Star. Reach her at erin.rode@vcstar.com or 805-437-0312.