A mortgage pre-approval is a lender’s written estimate of how much a buyer can borrow, based on a review of their finances. It signals that a buyer is serious and close to being able to make an offer.

At an open house, a visitor who is pre-approved, has a short timeline, and is unrepresented is the strongest lead the event can produce. Asking about pre-approval as an optional field lets serious buyers self-identify without pressuring casual ones.

Pre-approval and pre-qualification are not the same thing, and visitors use the words interchangeably. A pre-qualification is a quick estimate based on figures the buyer states themselves, with nothing verified. A pre-approval follows an actual review of income, assets, and credit, which is why sellers weigh it more heavily on an offer. If a visitor says they are “pre-qualified”, that is a real signal, just a softer one.