So, you're holding an open house? Keep these simple tips in mind to make it a successful one.
- Plan ahead. Open houses that are held on the spur of the moment rarely have a very good turn-out. You might get a couple of the neighbors in, but no serious buyers. If you're going to hold an open house, plan at least one week in advance.
- Market the open house in a variety of ways. 3-5 days prior to open house, hand out flyers to neighbors, E-mail flyers, announce on Facebook, Craigslist, your website, Google Plus, Active Rain, Realtor.com, Trulia, and Zillow, just to name a few. Clearly state the date and time of your open house. Be sure to include driving directions to the home.
- Have a thorough working knowledge of the home, the neighborhood, and the community. It's helpful to have printouts handy.
- Make plenty of color flyers to hand out at the open house.
- On the day of the open house, at least one hour ahead of scheduled time, set plenty of signs out directing traffic to the property. Place signs at nearby intersections, at street corners leading to house, and, of course, directly in front of the house. It is helpful to have balloons or bike flags on each sign to catch peoples' attention.
- Dress and act the part of a professional.
- Have a guest registry. Title companies will often provide spiral bond guest registries for free. I prefer to use the Open Home Pro app available on iPad. This allows guests to register quickly and easily. You, as the agent, can then make notes, and the app automatically sends out thank you notes to each visitor. Simple!
- Bring water bottles, preferably with your name/logo on them, and plenty of business cards to hand out to visitors. If you have personalized pens or pens from your brokerage, bring a good supply of those as well.
- Set the mood. Play soft, contemporary music on a radio/iPod. You want to make people relax. If it's dead quiet, they'll want to get in and out as soon as possible. Bake cookies or cinnamon rolls to provide a sense of comfort and hominess.
- Share highlights about the home to visitors.
- Have a working knowledge of competing homes for sale. This puts you in the forefront as a knowledgable sales person.
If you have other tips on how to make an open house a successful one, please share! Thanks!
Jana Haren, Realtor, MSSC
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