Jennifer Lopez Goes House Hunting in L.A. with Friend, No Ben in Sight

Jennifer Lopez was checking out new cribs this week -- and while she had at least one companion with her ... it definitely wasn't Ben Affleck.

The actress/singer was out in Beverly Hills Tuesday -- where she was accompanied by a woman who appears to be her longtime producing partner, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, who was seen leaving a luxury property in the neighborhood with Jen by her side.

There may have been others in the mix too ... but like we said, J Lo's hubby is nowhere to be found. What's also unclear ... why Jen might've been window shopping for houses at all.

Of course, Jen could've simply been tagging along for Elaine -- or looking at houses for other people -- but it certainly wouldn't make a ton of sense for her to be poking around on a new crib for herself ... as she and Ben snapped up a palace of a home in Bev Hills last year.

As we reported ... after a lot of back and forth, the couple finally pulled the trigger on the $60 million estate -- and they've been all moved in since at least last May, when moving trucks could be seen at the crib.

Considering they literally just bought a place in 2023 ... you wouldn't expect Jen to be perusing for herself again, especially without Ben by her side.

Speaking of which -- this is the 2nd time we've seen Jen out without Ben. She hit the Met Gala solo last week, and we were told Ben didn't show 'cause of his filming.