I have been selling for 5 years and have never sold a house at an open house, but I did get potential buyers from sitting.  I do like the peace and quiet at the opens.  In slow times I bring my computer and watch Dvd's of shows I haven't seen.  I caught up on a whole series of Grey's Anatomy at a few slow opens

Ernie, The last broker I worked for used to say that the purpose of an open house is not necessarily to sell "that" house but to sell "a" house.

Judy, it is a matter of time, but you will sell one if you keep doing open houses.  How many people do you normally get though your open houses?   LOL, I always bring my laptop, but I will have to grab a DVD next time in case I finish everything else I usually do.

Roberta, I agree with your statement!  It is to sell "a" house.  My associates are telling me that because they have been consistent in one area that they have sold their listings from their open houses.  I guess they are getting enough people through to get the numbers required to find a buyer.

good reminder.  I need to get out there and do more open houses.

Ginger, I think for maximum results the best things to do is to do it consistently in the same area where people will see and notice you on a regular basis.  Thanks for commenting!  :)

Ernie - I have yet to sell the home I was holding open, but I have heard agent tell of this happening.  It is good exposure for the home and can also bring buyers.

Candy, it does happen, you just have to be persistant.  I also invite agents to come through the open houses, so they can bring future buyers to it.  How is the market in Texas?

I like your list.  I have had great luck at open houses.  This year, two of my listings sold as a result of an open house.  I also have gotten great buyer and seller leads.  It is a very valuable piece of my marketing plan.

Erin, thank you for your positive comments!  I think the Sacramento area is currently a great place to do open houses.  Lots of buyers looking for good deals!  They say that most buyers use the first REALTOR they meet.  Best Wishes!

Excellent Ernie, I get a lot of clients from Open Houses!

I think it shows the sellers how hard you are willing to go for them, and it gets you out in front of people who you can convert to buyer-clients.

Ernie, thanks for being positive about Open Houses and the list. It's well thought out. Open Houses can sell houses and sometimes they are productive other times they are slow. I thought you put an excellent perspective on this technique. I agree that agents that run away from open houses in general do not show that they are hard workers. Great post!

Also open houses are a great way to keep your name out there in a neighborhood!

Hey Ernie, I have nothad the best of luck with open houses. I have been reading about some promotions that say do open houses in certain types of high traffic neighborhood, and put out signs days in advance, and to pass out flyers in the area, send post cards instead of classified ads,   I think he recommended like 20 signs and doing multiple days in the same house...No wonder mine didn't work..I didn't do half all this

MIke

Charles, Thanks for reading my post and commenting!  How many open houses do you do a month, if you don't mind answering here in AR? 

Dale, my sellers definitely feel I am doing all that is possible and that we are willing to work hard to get their home sold.

Gary, I appreciate your comments.  I know some days are slow, but people are watching.  One of my top producer from REA spoke about open houses.  He said you had to keep positive and do it consistently because even one deal a month is great!

Mike, the more marketing you do for your open houses the better.  It does take time setting up to do a good open house.  In our area or market we use Craig's list to promote the open houses too.  I think consistency is a key to long term success.

I would ask the rest of you to also answer the question how often do you do open houses a month.  It would be interesting to find out what the stats are on this.

I got a call from one of my associate, Ron Harris, who did an open house on one of my listings and there is an offer coming in from a buyer who came through to see it. 

Wow, it does work!  Ron said there were about 12 buyers that came through on Saturday.

Ernie,  I got my very first buyer through an Open House that I did for another agent, as I'm sure, others have, also.  It's a great way to get started and it doesn't cost much!  I always take my laptop and catch up on e-mail and peruse ActiveRain.  That reminds me, I need to follow up today with the folks who came through last Sunday's Open House!

Linda Schulte, Atlanta

Linda, thanks for giving us your experiences about open houses.  It is great for new agents, but I still see top producers doing open houses too.  Open houses are great when people come through and when you can do something productive like being on Active Rain.  LOL  

Best wishes on your folks from your last open house.

Open Houses work!  I tell our people to do them as often as possible.  Buyer and sellers really want to work with agents who are working hard and visible.

I'm a big fan of open houses but mainly for the marketing of my name and company.  For every 50 people that come through an open house I usually pick-up one buyer-client. 

On the Friday afternoon/evening before the first open house at a particular property I try to doorknock at least 50 nearby homes.  From these I usually have one neighbor stop in at the open house due to my doorknocking. This one neighbor definitely goes on my drip plan and will get invites to open houses in the area but not necessarily in the neighborhood.

Matthew, your comments are absolutely true!  Keep telling them to do open houses and show that they are active, working agents! 

Michael, great comment!  I think in our area in Sacramento, California we get a little better result.  I believe 1 out of 10 becomes a buyer-client.  We also get sellers from doing the open house in the same community week after week because they see we are aggressive in trying to get a home sold.  I think the numbers go up when you do the door knocking and mailing in the area.  I have been told to send post cards for CMA to 50-100 house around listing because statistically that someone will sell home near listing within 3-6 months.  I agree with you 100% that these leads should be put into a drip program and followed-up on regularly.  Thanks for your comments!