Freshly back from a walk around the neighborhood and noticed 2 open houses. Balloons, signs and freshly mowed lawns enticed. Were there cookies inside? Fresh lemonade perhaps?
Are open houses obsolete? What advertising do you use to attract the most traffic?
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I did one once. About 14 years ago. One person showed up. I ended up selling them a house 2 years later. So 1 open house and 1 sale. I guess I can say they work although I will never do another one.
Going against Hurrican Irene's tide today, I've sold 2 homes in the past year from Open Houses...
I find open houses to be an an inefficient use of my time. Brokers like it, because it gives the company publicity, but it doesn't really sell the home.
Depending on the property, it can HELP sell a home, but it is by no means a magic bullet!
Everyone seems to have forgot the issue of providing the opportunity for the wrong person to come into the house and learn: the security system, whether the house is occupied, and whether or not there was something of value to steal at a latter date. Making access easy such as leaving windows and doors open in hopes that the showing realtor will not check all of the places unlocked.
There have always been issues for the safety of the realtor showing the home, but the bigger threat as been latter thefts and destruction.
For sure the neighbors are first as they are noisy as well and wanting to see how their houses stack up just in case they will be putting their home on the market in the very near future
We rarely do open houses any more. What we found over time is that they were attended by Realtors looking for snacks and free gifts. 8-) There are few in this area.
When I did residential real estate, they never seemed to work for me. It depends on the area.
A lot of marketing time spent and the homeowners always get their hopes up that a "buyer" will come thru. I enjoy meeting the neighbors and this is an easy way for them to approach you vs. door knocking but successful for selling the home you are "open" at, I don't think so. I agree with all the comments above, I advertise on the internet heavily the house is open for "viewing" 24/7. Open houses are by far not my favorite way to spend the day advertising a home
When listing a home, that is well priced, has a great location, and is in good condition, I offer the seller a chance to vote on having one open house. I am not a strong proponent of Open Houses. They are a lot of work if done correctly. Open Houses that I orchestrate need a two week lead time, invitation need to be sent out, ads run, seller has to prep the home, signage etc.
There is one other factor that I am going to mention, I am not a fan of turning a seller home in to my own personal office space, to generate business. One of the comments made said that she knows that sellers understands that aspect of real estate when holding an open house is for the agents to generate business, I beg to differ, the concept is to expose the home to a buyer that wants that home now to buy.
So, all the cookies, and other enticements might bring in a buyer for that home, but the odds are better playing the lottery. Also, I think that sometime in the future that sellers are going to start to ask for a piece of the action, when a buyer walks in and the agent gets a sale from selling a home that is isn't the one being held open. Seller'sare becoming much more savvy.
In Silicon Valley, attendence at Open Houses depends on the school district. Highly rated school districts get lots of attendees.
Open houses are great for new construction and resort areas. They are almost a must for marketing new home communities. But for your average house tucked away in a neighborhood, an open house briongs lead sto teh listing agnet but other than alot of lookers and dreamers, there are not many sales that arise diretcly from an open house.
I fundamentally do not like holding homes open. Why on earth would we invite total strangers who may or may not be quialified to buy a home, and infact may have less than honorable intentions when entering the home. We do on occasion hold a home that is vacant and staged open depending on the traffic flow and location.
When we hold a home open here is what I expect to happen.
1. Bright Balloons 2 on each open house sign.
2. Minimum of 8 signs for open house up directing you to the home.
3. Date and time of open house posted in front of the home for a minimum of 2 days prior to.
4. Two people to work the open house for safety and security.
5. Water bottles with our information on them.
6. Contact sheet so we can require people to register before touring the home. This is placed near the front door. If you won't sign in and give us information, we won't let you in.
Who knows, sold two houses via an open house as the client came back after talking to their agent and viewing the home. They had time to walk around and really consider the home. Ultimately I think they are going out of vogue. I will say that is is a good way to show potential clients who may want to list their homes that you are out there working and working hard. Perhaps that is the benefit of the open house, to attract a new listing.
I get mixed results, usually depends on the location. But, I still love doing them.
It depends upon the location but here in Chicago, open houses do work and its more for explaining to the consumer/buyer about the house and what the sellers have done and what that means to them if they buy the home. We are finding that open houses decreases the market time in my neck of the woods.
I prefer open houses only when needed - when there is an event like new listing, price change - and a great weekend day! Are they dead? I don't think so. Do I host it all the time? I prefer not to.
This is another one of those universal questions which does not have a universal answer. It depends on the market area, the city, and even the individual neighborhood.
When someone asks when will there be an open, I respond: 'When would you like it open?' Then I schedule an appointment.
I do like unusual opens like the 3 day yard sale, a Thursday evening BBQ, a garden party and even an ActiveRain Open House!
Margaret
I did an open house today, advertised it on my blog, on Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist, and others, lots of signs, etc. Had a good turn out.
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