Sunday Open Houses: Where Are the Buyers?

Sunday Open Houses: Where Are the Buyers?

Sellers are convinced Sunday open houses are the answer to selling their home in this challenging real estate market.  After all, they bought the house after attending a Sunday open house 6 or 7 years ago. 

In fact, they saw an ad in the Sunday real estate section of the newspaper and then went to visit several Sunday open houses before they decided which home to buy.

Why wouldn't the next buyer for their home be found with a Sunday open house?

To answer that question we need to consider how a buyer goes about purchasing a home in today's market.  For the vast majority of the buyers, the search for a new home starts on the Internet.

Buyers have vast resources at there disposal on the Internet that were not available 6 or 7 years ago.  Listing data bases like Realtor.com and Zillow have made all sorts of detailed information available to consumers.  Savvy real estate agents have IDX solutions on their websites that give the potential buyers the ability to search....even off line....for their dream home and be alerted when new listings are posted.

Buyers can walk through houses virtually while wearing bath robes and sipping coffee.  They can see what a monthly payment would be including insurance and taxes.  And best of all, they don't have to encounter any pesky real estate agents or home sellers while doing their shopping.

The same buyer profile holds true for car buyers.  Many, if not most, car buyers are avoiding the new and used car lots like the plaque.  They shop for cars online, maybe even solicit prices online, and then go to the dealer only when it is time to finalize the deal.

Even my home sellers who firmly believe their home will be sold at a Sunday open house agree they used they Internet when they bought their last car.

Even more telling, most of these same home sellers are using the Internet TO SEARCH FOR THEIR NEXT HOME.

Should you hold a Sunday open house if you want to sell your home?  The answer can be found within your expectations.  If you are a home seller, there is a certain segment of the market that still relys on open houses to find their next home. 

Senior citizens and others with out Internet access appreciate the opportunity to walk through your home.  Of course, most senior citizens are not in the market for a 6 bedroom traditional with a rec room on the finished terrace level.

Neighbors love open houses and use the opportunity to snoop through your home and also to meet the real estate agent in case they need to sell their home in the near future (Note to agents, this is a good reason to continue holding open houses).

Tire kickers, people who are bored and went out for a drive, friends of the real estate agent who stop in to say hello....these are all people who love Sunday open houses. 

Oh yeah, the Sunday real estate have "virtually" disappeared as consumers have voted overwhelmingly for the Internet as their news media of choice.  Take a look at the newspaper's classified advertising recently.  What once took pages and pages of the Sunday paper can now be found in a page or two.  Just not a market for print these days.

You make the decision, I will do a Sunday Open House if it is important to you.  Just approach the decision realistically and don't be surprised when the turnout is low.  And definitely do not be surprised when no sales.contracts are written as a result of a Sunday open house.

GO HERE to see where all the Sunday Open House action is taking place these days.

Sally English and the English Team are not interested in LISTING your home for sale.  We do not get paid until we SELL YOUR HOME.  Our motivations in marketing your home are to find a buyer who is willing to pay a fair price in a reasonable amount of time.  We pay thousands of dollars to market your home on the INTERNET.  We put COLOR FLYERS in the front yard of your home to catch "drive by" buyers. 

Let us professionally market ....and sell.....your Atlanta Georgia home.