Full Exposure Open House

Wow you would think with all that marketing it would get results but I do admit some days are better than others but agree when you work that much to get that little its likely time for plan b

Erin, the success at open house depends on many factors - and apart from marketing/exposure etc etc, location should be desirable and so is true for price, too.

An excellent listing of mine ended up with just 2 guests, despite the fact that we had advertised a lot everywhere and were offering free food, too! And yes, I know it's the location coupled with price that's making things go south!

Erin, You just never know. One thing for sure, you did all the right things. It could be the heat or people just had other things to do.  Sorry it didn't turn out.

Erin, In my marketplace 90% of the success or failure of an open home depends exclusively on its location and market conditions; 10% on what the agent does.  I have experience with very successful and very unsuccessful open houses and I do the same thing for both.

Erin - I suspect the success rate of Open Houses has much to do with where you are in the country.  I have had more than my fair share of good luck at Open Houses, and know one agent who literally built most of his clientele and business from doing them on weekends.

Hi, Erin...my open house blog is going to read like yours. I'm on the Western Slope, and open houses just don't work here. It's somewhat comforting to know it's that way on the front range, too. No matter what type of exposure or signage, people just don't go to them. We have even offered a drawing for a gas card, but this didn't help, either.

Congratulations on the your feature.

I love Open Houses and have never had one that failed miserably. ....Even when rain was pounding the streets and rivers running down the sidewalks ..The people came out.  Typically my houses are not available for showing daily and have limited access hours - HUGE bonus!  Buyers and Agents are rushing to make sure they have access and can verify that they have seen the house for their offer to be reviewed.

The one thing that I noticed from your message was that you are in a New Home Development.

Are your homes not available for showing during the week?

In my area (Northern California) you can see a New Home model, build 7 days a week in all communities.

An Open House in a New Home Community - wouldn't be anything different than any other day in my book.

Maybe I am missing something and you are only open on specific days.

Good luck on your next Open House!

"Personal invitations to Open houses" are the key; meaning you need to call and personally invite people over or knock on their doors and hand them the postcard or invitation.

I guess no matter how well you hold an open house, it really depends on the area. It doesn't make sense to me.

Good morning, Erin.... we do open house events every weekend and many of our transactions, new and resale, result from this marketing.... not every open house is a successful event.... we have had many with NO ONE SHOWING UP....NO ONE.... and we keep on doing them.... we have also had others where we sold two or three homes/condos..... it's just like postcard mailing....no guarantees...just keep doing them and market to buyer agents....they have the buyers.

What a great Mom! In Southwest Florida we usually get good to excellent turnouts and have written contracts on the dining room table. Maybe it's just the area and mind set of your city. 

Open houses are weird. One time you get an ample supply of people and others like you said nothing.

As inventory shrinks I can see the increased potential for success at open houses as long as you are in the right location like we are in Florida. Have a great day!

Erin,  We try now don't we.  It is so frustrating after all the work that goes into the prep time.

I think open houses vary by region and price point.  Even here in "hot" Silicon Valley, a property on the market more than a couple of weeks is going to have little turnout.  I think you did all the right things but it just didn't pan out.

They really don't work here either, Erin. I will do them if the seller can't be discouraged from having them but I try to explain that the most people we are going to get, if we get any, is the neighbors who want to check out your "stuff".  You certainly did everything you could--which is all we can do.

Erin, I guess it really depends on the local area. Too bad all of your efforts were disappointing.

My first thoughts to this problem is price? location? If that's good, then perhaps open houses just don't work in this area.

Hello Erin~ In our current market conditions, we don't find open houses to be successful either. We did one last year at the request of the seller and had very little in the way of traffic and NO serious buyers.

My MLS as an open house section to list the date and time of the open house that spreads to the other websites. Also you can directly add an open house to Zillow If something like 87% of all buyers start online it seems reasonable to  advertize our open houses online.  - See more at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/492323/12-ways-to-advertise-your-open-house#sthash.oUlEuNpv.dpuf