When I entered the real estate profession 12 years ago, my broker told me that I would not stand a chance at succeeding if I did not do Sunday Open Houses. When I transferred to another Broker a couple of years later, I heard the exact opposite advise, " Open Houses are usually a waste of time". So which one was right. Well, both were!
Open Houses are a waste of time unless they are prepared and conducted properly. A well presented Open House is a successful strategy many saavy agents use to market and sell their listings & skill set as a real estate consultant to the general public. Unfortunately, many agents have never been given basic instructions about how to ensure that an Open House is worth the time & others do not want to put in the efforts to ensure that their time...which is money....is well worth it.
The fact is that Millions of Americans seem to find Open Houses to be an engaging hobby. Don't ask me why. Maybe, it's part of our morbid curiosity about how other people live; sort of like the house hunting version of tabloid voyeurism. But if millions of people are going through Open Houses, largely hosted by real estate agents & our national statistics indicate that only 3% of homes are selling through Open Houses, then we have a 97% Failure Rate.
While many of these open house attenders will not necessarily buy a home they walk through, we are doing a dismal job of capturing prospects who have indicated that they are probably going to be buying sometime, somewhere. Let's look at some vital issues which should be considered when planning to hold a house open.
The most important aspect of preparing for a Successful Open House is Picking the Right House. Not every home is suitable for holding an Open House. Have you ever gone on the Open House Needle in the Haystack Search?
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