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The Revival of the Open House

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Beam & Branch Realty TREC #547752

During the "frenzied" days of zero days on the market, multiple offers, and a low inventory situation, in our area we saw a decline in Open Houses. Quite frankly, we didn't need to conduct these events much less, have the adequate time in which to hold them. Well, the tide has turned and we are seeing the revival of open houses.

With that in mind, I've created a quick reminder of some excellent Open House tips and tricks.

  1. Preparation - Make sure you have a conversation with your Sellers concerning things like presenting their home in the best light. Cleanliness, de-cluttered, toilet seats closed, and lights on. Also, make sure the home smells clean and crisp. Citrus essential oils being diffused will create a fresh aroma.
  2. Getting the word out - Create inviting posts on social media, let the neighbors know (you never know who they know who may want to be in their neighborhood), and get your signage out to direct prospects to the home.
  3. Sign-in - Make sure you have a place to sign in for the visitors to the home. This is a great way to thank those who showed up, meet potential buyers, and to let the Seller know who was in their home.
  4. Make it memorable - What is the main thing you want potential buyers to remember about the house? Use this feature to use as your "hook". Create a flyer with that "wow" factor(s) about the house. Even using small frames throughout the house to "point" out specific features and placed throughout do wonders for creating a narrative.
  5. Comment cards - Having some strategically placed comment cards can help you get some much-needed feedback. 
  6. Follow up - It is important to follow up with everyone who visited the home and then make sure you convey this information to your Seller.
  7. Thank you notes - This may seem like a thing of the past however, most people truly love receiving a hand-written note. These notes should be written to the Seller and to those who visitied the home.

Conducting open houses is a great way to get folks into the door, to meet potential future clients, and to help understand real-time feedback that can ve valuable for your clients. 

As this market cools, I believe we will all see the revival of open houses. Let's clear out the cobwebs and welcome in the open houses again with open arms! Happy selling!

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Comments(14)

Dave Halpern
Dave Halpern Real Estate Agent, Inc., Louisville, KY (502) 664-7827 - Louisville, KY
Louisville Short Sale Expert

High gasoline prices, high inflation, and higher interest rates all combine to cause longer days on market and more open houses.

Jul 30, 2022 06:48 PM
Dr. Paula McDonald
Beam & Branch Realty - Granbury, TX
Granbury, TX 936-203-0279

You are so correct, Dave. We all knew a shift was imminent and now, here we are.

Jul 30, 2022 06:53 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Paula- This shift means sellers may need to adjust their expectations. And agents may have to make their own adjustments in how they market their listing. 

Jul 30, 2022 07:22 PM
Dr. Paula McDonald
Beam & Branch Realty - Granbury, TX
Granbury, TX 936-203-0279

Absolutely, Kathy Streib! Lots of expectations will need to be adjusted for sure.

Jul 30, 2022 07:49 PM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

The pandemic has been pretty tough that way but now we seem to be back in business in so many aspects and this is just one. : 

Jul 30, 2022 10:59 PM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Paula - geographic real estate markets are different.  Even a situation within that area may provide different results as what works for one (or even some) may not necessarily work for "all".  

Jul 31, 2022 04:09 AM
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

Good morning, Paula... there is an "art" to holding open houses and it's more than shoving an open house sign in the ground on a Friday afternoon! I actually saw quite a few open houses in Charlotte the last couple of years and they were always packed. I went to one last weekend with a client and there was virtually no one attending except my client and me and one other couple. How times have changed!

Jul 31, 2022 04:48 AM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

These are good tips for conducting open houses, and yes, they will become more necessary as the market continues to move more towards a balanced one.

Jul 31, 2022 05:05 AM
Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Specialist
KD Realty - 408.972.1822 - San Jose, CA
Probate Real Estate Services

To each their own, Dr. Paula McDonald - I am not a fan of open houses. I rarely, if ever, host an open house. Then again, 99% of my listings are vacant and people can go direct.

If a seller wants an open house then the seller gets an open house. 

I agree with you - we are seeing a shift in the frenzied market we are coming out of and there is plenty of time to showcase homes with an open house. 

Jul 31, 2022 08:48 AM
Carol Williams
Although I'm retired, I love sharing my knowledge and learning from other real estate industry professionals. - Wenatchee, WA
Retired Agent / Broker / Prop. Mgr, Wenatchee, WA

Hi Paula,
I never liked doing Opens because they took my Sunday afternoon away from home. That said, though, they were effective over the years.  I can see there might be a return to them.

Jul 31, 2022 09:41 AM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

Interestingly enough, yesterday when I was out and about, I noticed more Open House signs.  They've been missing in action the past couple of years.  First, there was the pandemic, and then homes sold before you could put an Open House sign out on the corner.

Jul 31, 2022 03:47 PM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

CONGRATULATIONS Paula, on having this blog FEATURED in the Old Farts Club group!  

Jul 31, 2022 03:48 PM
Dan Hopper
Dan Hopper - Gold Way RE - Westminster, CO
Colorado Broker / Referral Services

"Open Houses" have always been a topic of various opinions.  Knew some very good brokers working the OH, and others just really fail at it.  Certain properties would cause me to exercise my energy on an OH.... after a few days of "coming soon" signs you would get an idea of the traffic you might have, from the calls off the coming soon signs.  Seemed to work well in knowing what to expect.

Aug 03, 2022 09:13 AM
Adam Feinberg
Elegran - Manhattan, NY
NYC Condo, Co-op, and Townhouse Advisor

Pre-Covid, Open House Sundays were the norm- and buyers made a day out of it. They might do bottomless boozy brunch and then go on the hunt for interesting homes on the market. Broker attitudes here were far different than the reactions to what I read on Activerain. It doesn't matter if they weren't buyers today- we want the activity as there is a tremendous amount of money floating around town. The visitors might be narrowing down which buildings they might have an interest in later, or they might be scoping out the possibilities for friends or family.  Things have changed since Covid. The bottomless brunch is not the influence it was and open houses are now by appt- in 15 minute increments over the course of 60 or 90 minutes to minimize the number of people at one time (i.e. crowding small rooms, elevators, etc) . If an agent is working with a buyer- it's far tougher to get into an apartment. While 15 minutes is sufficent for a first viewing, the issue is trying to get the appt that works with the schedule of other viewings. Before, we only needed to get to the apartment within the 1 hour window, now you are struggling to fit each appt when most viewings on Sunday are 12-2pm, and trying to schedule the window along with travel time between appointments- it's a far more time consuming job now.  

Aug 03, 2022 08:19 PM