Open Houses: Do they really sell homes?

I live on the border of San Gabriel, Pasadena and San Marino.  After my morning coffee and crepes (family tradition - my kids are used to starting the day on Sundays with crepes and nutella), I took a drive around the neighborhood.

Open House signs were everywhere.  Some corners had five or six different realtor signs pointing San Gabriel Valley buyers to their Open Houses.  It was quite a colorful sight.

If I would have been a pedestrian, I would have been in major trouble.

Now my take on Open Houses is simple.  They do NOT sell homes in most instances.  After holding hundreds of Open Houses, I have only sold 2 homes in the last 6 years that I could directly tie back with holding an Open House.

 Why do I hold Open Houses?  Well... several reasons:

1. As I put a new home for sale on the market, I will always hold it open for the brokers preview, neighborhood twilight open and the first weekend open houses.  This is simply to give easy access to potential buyers and agents.  A convenience and exposure factor - part of my marketing plan.
2. It gives me an opportunity to meet neighbors.  Why is that important?  Neighbors usually know someone who wants to live in their area and it's a great opportunity for them to see the house and talk it up with their friends and relatives.  I also convert some of these neighbors to potential clients if the time is right for them to sell their home now or later.
3. It's a way for me to meet potential buyers.  Most of my business comes from referrals, but a small percentage of my business comes from Open Houses and other marketing efforts.

Why do I NOT hold Open Houses?

1. It's extremely intrusive to my sellers.  We all know how difficult it is to get your home ready to go on the market.  It has to be staged.  It has to be spotless.  It has to always look like a model home!  So here we are, asking you, the seller, to do all these things and on top of that, we want you to leave your house for almost the entire weekend.  First weekend yes... continuosly - NO WAY!
2. On the same vain, most of my sellers do not want every Joe from the street to have the ability to go through the home.  It's a SAFETY issue.  Most buyers are represented by a real estate agent.  Also, I give a tremendous amount of exposure to the homes that I list on the internet with multiple pictures, personal websites, virtual tours, etc.  By the time, the buyers schedule an appointment to see my listings they already are half way in love with the house and the home is in their price range and meets their minimum criteria.  It's just a matter of confirming what they've seen on-line. 
3. Over 75% of all buyers start their search on the internet, NOT by going from one Open House to another.  Open Houses attract lookie loos. 

So Mr. & Mrs. Seller, when you put your home on the market, realize that there's more to selling homes than just holding Open Houses.   Real Estate has changed drastically over the last decade.  There are new and innovative ways of marketing your home.  I'd be very careful when speaking with an agent who speaks highly of continually holding Open Houses as their top marketing strategy.  They are NOT doing them for you, but for themselves and their business!