I hear a lot of grumbling about Open Houses no longer working. Actually they just take more thought and planning than before. Granted, if I do an Open House on a country property I'll probably get neighbors and Sunday sightseers with nothing better to do.
On the contrary if I choose a property in a sought after neighborhood I'll get a crowd. I currently have a Victorian home on the National Historic Register within walking distance of courthouse square and it's an Open House magnet. I've had two Open Houses so far on that property and out of 30some visitors I picked up 6 active buyer prospects. I have 3 buyers who what the Victorian as soon as their current home sells or as soon as they get a down payment together. Details and Virtual Tour
The other benefit of a carefully planned Open House is that other homeowners identify yo
u as a hard working Realtor and seek you out when they're ready to sell. I've had homeowners come to my Open Houses just to ask for a listing appointment.
Finally, while social networking is all the go there is a huge segment of our population it doesn't reach. Since I'm a boomer myself I target other boomers especially Seniors With Money (SWMrs). They aren''t using social networking sites. They read the newspaper and cruise neighborhoods they like looking for sale signs and Open Houses. I have a SWMr client who was given a Netbook and didn't know what to do with it. I taught him the basics and set up all my sites as favorites for him.
Open Houses do work if you plan wisely and follow up promptly with your guests. When I'm on the way home from an Open House I mail thank you cards to my visitors. Then I set up autoprospeting to send them the kind of homes they want from our REMAX site and from our board MLS.
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