How to Plan an Open House Preview Route in Sheets

To plan an open house preview route, list your target addresses in a spreadsheet column. Next, sequence them geographically using =VISIT_ORDER(A2:A10). Calculate realistic driving intervals with =TRAVEL_TIME(A2, A3) to prevent overbooking, and generate a turn-by-turn navigation link using =ROUTE_LINK(A2:A10) via the InstaMaps add-on.

This specific guide is designed for buyer agents who spend their Saturday mornings rushing between properties. By the end of this straightforward walkthrough, you will have an automated, repeatable system that sequences your property viewings, calculates literal driving times, accounts for showing constraints, and produces a single click-to-navigate map link to keep your day on schedule.

What you need to get started

To build this route planner, you need a Google Sheet containing your target property addresses and the free InstaMaps add-on. The add-on provides custom mapping formulas directly inside your spreadsheet, meaning you never have to leave your browser or bounce between different applications to organise your day.

You can insert formulas automatically via the sidebar (Extensions > InstaMaps > Formulas) without typing them out manually. This approach keeps your property data secure within your own Google Drive. To begin, ensure your sheet has three columns: one for the full property address, one for the open house start time, and one for the end time.

1. A Google Sheet with target addresses in Column A.

2. The InstaMaps add-on installed from the Google Workspace Marketplace.

3. A column listing the start and end times for each property's open house.

Step 1: Sequence your stops with =VISIT_ORDER

First, organise your scattered list of open houses into a logical driving order. Buyer agents frequently waste fuel and critical time driving back and forth across town because they simply visit listings in the chronological order they found them on the local MLS.

Instead of eyeballing a map and guessing which property sits closest to your current location, apply the visit order formula. This formula evaluates the geographical distance between all provided addresses and returns the most efficient driving sequence. If a listing has a strict showing time constraint (such as an open house that strictly ends at noon while others remain open until 3:00 PM), simply run the formula first, then manually drag that specific row to the correct time slot before you continue with your calculations. The formula does the heavy lifting of geographic sequencing; you retain total control over the final itinerary based on seller constraints.

1. Formula: =VISIT_ORDER(A2:A8)

2. Result: InstaMaps outputs a new column indicating the optimal sequence (1, 2, 3, etc.) for your addresses.

3. Action: Sort your sheet based on this new column to finalise your itinerary.

Step 2: Check driving times with =TRAVEL_TIME

A perfectly sequenced list looks organised on paper, but it does not account for physical traffic delays, school zones, or the actual minutes spent driving between distinct neighbourhoods.

To prevent overbooking and ensure you do not miss the crucial first ten minutes of an open house, calculate the literal driving time between your sequenced stops. This allows you to block out realistic travel windows in your daily calendar and set proper expectations with your clients regarding when you will arrive at each property. If you are driving clients around in your car, this step is vital for keeping their anxiety low and ensuring they have adequate time to assess each home's layout before rushing to the next one.

1. Formula: =TRAVEL_TIME(A2, A3)

2. Result: The exact driving time (in minutes) between the first and second address.

3. Action: Add 10 minutes to this figure to account for walking to your car and finding parking at the destination.

Step 3: Generate your route link with =ROUTE_LINK

Once your addresses are accurately sequenced and your travel times are verified against the clock, you need a practical way to physically navigate your Saturday route.

Instead of typing addresses into your mobile phone one by one while sitting in a driveway, generate a single Google Maps URL directly from your sheet. This action opens your entire Saturday open house itinerary in your mobile browser, ready for continuous turn-by-turn voice navigation. Remember that standard Google Maps URLs limit routes to a maximum of 11 stops. If you want a visual overview instead of active voice navigation, you can use the =INSTAMAP() formula to create a live, hosted map URL that plots every stop automatically and updates whenever you add new listings to your sheet.

1. Formula: =ROUTE_LINK(A2:A8)

2. Result: A clickable URL that opens Google Maps with your stops pre-loaded in the correct order.

3. Action: Email or text this link to yourself, or share it with your buyer clients so they can meet you at the property.

Worked example: A 6-stop Saturday route

Consider a buyer agent previewing six open houses across Austin, Texas, on a busy Saturday morning. The agent types the target addresses into cells A2 through A7, and pastes the open house hours into columns B and C.

To sequence the day, the agent runs =VISIT_ORDER(A2:A7) in column D. The formula calculates the geometry and instantly reorders the properties, placing the Westlake listing first, followed by South Austin, and ending in East Austin. Next, the agent checks the commute from stop one to stop two using =TRAVEL_TIME(A2, A3), which calculates exactly 14 minutes of driving. Satisfied that this travel window fits the 10:00 AM start time constraint, the agent uses =ROUTE_LINK(A2:A7) to generate a single map link. The agent texts the link to their client, who opens it directly in their own car. The entire routing process takes less than two minutes from start to finish.

Limits and honest alternatives

InstaMaps is highly effective for standard Saturday open house schedules, but it does possess hard operational limits. The =ROUTE_LINK() formula relies on the official Google Maps URL scheme, which enforces a strict limit of 11 stops per route.

Furthermore, the free tier provides 100 formula lookups per day, which expands to 1,000 daily lookups if you verify your email address inside the add-on. If you are planning a massive broker's tour with 30 properties across a sprawling county, this specific tool is not the right fit for your needs. In those complex cases, dedicated routing software like Roadwarrior or Routific serves as a better, albeit paid, alternative because they handle multi-vehicle routing and complex constraints natively. For the standard buyer agent previewing 4 to 8 homes on a Saturday, Google Sheets and InstaMaps handle the task perfectly without forcing you into another monthly software subscription.

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