For real estate agents
Showing tours that avoid unnecessary backtracking
Typical route setup
- Route size
- The confirmed and flexible properties in one tour or outreach area
- What drives the order
- Confirmed showing windows dominate. Between them, drive time and keeping the tour narrative sensible.
- Where the list comes from
- An MLS export, a saved search, or a list of addresses in a client email.
Showing tours and farming routes
The showing tour
A showing tour combines confirmed windows, flexible properties and a client in the car. You may be able to plan it by hand, but the map makes cross-neighborhood backtracking easier to spot before the tour begins.
The map makes cross-neighborhood backtracking visible before the client gets in the car. You can then compare the efficient order with the sequence required by showing windows.
The farming route
Door knocking, dropping market updates and canvassing a subdivision emphasize geographic coverage. The planner can provide a driving order for up to 100 addresses, but a walking sequence still needs manual adjustment for street sides, paths and access.
Building a tour that holds together
A working method for a showing day with mixed constraints:
- Lock the confirmed windows first. Place them in the order the times demand. Everything else works around them.
- Let the planner order the flexible showings. These are the stops it can move around the fixed appointments.
- Read the leg times before you commit. A 30-minute leg in the middle of a tour is worth reconsidering. Reorder it or set expectations in the car.
- Leave more slack than the drive time suggests. Showings run long, clients linger, and a tour with no slack turns into a tour that misses its last window.
- Keep sensitive access details separate. Notes may be printed or encoded in a shared URL, so do not place lockbox codes or alarm details there.
When presentation matters more than mileage
An agent may want to show the strongest home last or open with a property that sets a useful reference point. That sales decision can override the lowest-drive-time sequence.
Optimize first to see the efficient order, then move the one or two homes whose position matters to the presentation. The updated leg times show how that choice affects the tour.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import listings from the MLS?
There is no MLS integration, but most systems export a list to CSV or let you copy an address column. Paste that in and add a notes column with the MLS number or price so the route reads like a tour sheet.
How do I handle confirmed showing times?
Place those manually in the order their windows require, then let the planner order the flexible ones around them. Showing windows always win over drive time.
Is this useful for a six-house tour?
It depends on the geography and the order you started with. Optimize the addresses and compare the estimated total; a compact tour may barely change, while a cross-town sequence may reveal avoidable backtracking.
Can I use it for door knocking or farming?
You can use it to group and order up to 100 addresses for driving. It does not calculate a pedestrian route, so a door-knocking walk still needs manual street-by-street review.
Can I share the tour with my client?
Yes, via a share link or a printed sheet. Bear in mind the link encodes the addresses in the URL itself, so treat it as the address list it contains.
Does it show drive time between each home?
Yes, per leg. Check those times before committing to a tour so you can set accurate expectations for the drive between homes.
Try it on tomorrow's list
Paste the addresses you already have and compare the order against the one you would have driven.
Open the planner