To Hold Or Not To Hold An Open House

I would say yes to holding an open house. You must be in motion and meet people.

Better to have and to hold, than sitting wondering what all the fuss is about when others have success. gotta get out there with people.

Matthew, it's been my experience that open houses may benefit the agent by finding some new clients, but doesn't sell the house being held open.

I agree with Gary.  The odds would be very slim that you sell the house you are sitting in.  It does make the Seller happy that you are giving the property extra exposure though.  Be careful of your local ordinances on signage as after your open house they may not be there to pick up, and I am sure your Broker would not appreciate that.

There are some cases where "open houses" work for the seller but very few.  There are a lot of risks if the home is not prepared.  Is the time well spent is the question, what results were gained.

I was always told the war stories, that they were a waste of time, the very first open house I ever held, 14 years ago, sold at the open house, the first person that walked in.  So, I say, take a chance, you never know.  Even if the curiosity seekers come to look, they might be pleasantly surprised and tell someone else about it.  Plus, it usually makes for a very happy seller, if they want an open house.  Not all sellers do, and, I think not every house should be held open.  I am wide open to try and do whatever it takes to get it SOLD.

Which marketing system will work?  It's an ongoing question.  I'm sitting at an open house right now as I type, so Yes, I do think they work.

Truth is, just about all the standard marketing systems work in real estate.  It's just a question of doing them consistently.  I have a friend who's a personal trainer, and I asked him once what popular diets actually work.  He said, "They all do.  Problem is, most people dont' follow through on any of them."  So true!  I had never thought of it that way.

Pick what you think you can handle doing consistently and do that.

One note: $200 for 1 open house is pretty expensive in my book.  There are many open houses where people don't show up at all.  Make sure if you're spending $$ on signage, that it's reusable.  The two most important things for an open house are 1) YOU and 2) the SIGN-IN FORM.

I believe like many that the open house will most likely not sell the listing but it will give it more exposure.  Most of the time we get the neighbors interested in what the house looks like what it's selling for.  This is a perfect time for you to introduce yourself, let them know what the market is currently doing in the area, you never know they may call you when they are ready to sell their house - after all you're the realtor that actually hosts open houses (Big brownie points).   You never know the neighbor might have a friend or relative who loves their neighborhood and they may be able to direct them your way.  I held an open house once  and a neighbor stopped by, she was actually leasing a house in the neighborhood and her lease was about to expire, I picked her up as a new client and began showing her other available houses in the area.  I think: if it can give the listing exposure, you meet buyers and at the same time you are making the sellers happy then why not hold an open house? 

I think that open houses are great. I agree with Zuri that open houses will probably not sell that listing. It is a great opportunity to get in front of a TON of potential clients. As a lender, i sponsor open homes every weekend, we have sign in sheets and work all the leads. I have closed about 5 or 6 this year from one Realtor's open houses alone!! Great for new or old agents, the key is location and sign-age!!! 

I just did an open house today and had three groups through.  Two came in from signs and one from the Internet.  I think that is about right.  Luckily it was a cloudy and showery day, so people weren't doing outside activities.

Some of the people were working with realtors.  The suprising fact was that no one knew the name of their realtor???????! 

I take that to mean they didn't like their realtor, but were not ready to commit to me.

I gave them my contact information, and hope that someone may call me.

Open houses are all about luck.

Matthew good post, and it has to be the right location. Some houses are in a poor area or hard to get too. Do u want this type of buyer ask yourself. You have to earn their trust so it takes awhile too.

good information and as we do several opens a month we pretty much do it all but are always fine tuning