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Can an Open House sell your house?

Can an Open House sell your house?

The short answer is YES, it is possible. Does it happen very often? No. A very small percentage of homes are sold from an open house. As small as 1-2%, depending on the area, agent, house etc. Many variables here.

Lets dig in. The Long Answer.

open house to sell your house First, as a seller do you want your agent to hold an open house? (If you don't, that is perfectly fine).
If you are wondering - Maybe?
Bring it up during the listing appointment.

Ask the agent:
"What about an open house?" or "Do you do open houses?"

Some agents will flat out say they do not do open houses.

"Why not?" you ask.

There can be several answers to that.
"They don't work."
"They are waste of time."
"I don't have time."
or even... "Another agent does them for me, so if you want one I can ask them to do it"

What you should hear is why (or why not) - really - your house is a good canditate for an open house.

Two examples - Agent:
1. "Your house is in an excellent location to create traffic into the open house. More traffic, more likely somebody will like your house and want to buy it."
2. "Your house shines and will be priced very competitively so by doing an open house we will be able to show that value to buyers" (will need the traffic component too)

Or the agent may say that they don't feel your house is a good canditate for an open house due to... location, price, condition, market conditions (all of the above) etc.

selling a home in Denver - open house

What you should hear is that the agent knows what they are talking about - whether the answer is why or why not an open house. Just like it isn't enough to merely stick a sign in the yard, it isn't enough just to show up to the open house.

If the agent agrees to do an open house ask some questions about the open houses.
Here are a few to start with:
How do you advertise your open houses?
How many potential buyers do you get into an open house (on average)?
How do you run the open house?

Some agents may get upset that you are asking all these questions, but hey, you want your house sold. So do we, so it shouldn't be a problem!

If it is determined that your house would be great to hold an open house in, you need an agent that knows how to run one.

The agent should know - how to create traffic (buyers) to your open house, and what to do once buyers come in. How DOES the agent run the open house?

When location, condition and everything else is pretty much even - the agent can make a huge difference for a successful open house - which would be - to SELL your house at the OPEN HOUSE (or more accurately as a result of the open house).

We do open houses when we see them fit. If you look at the percentage of homes that we sold via the open houses compared to all homes that we sold - the number is very small. But if you look at the percentage of homes that we sold via an open house compared to the number of open houses we held - the number is over 15%.

Holding an open house is certainly not our first (or second) choice getting your house sold, but it can fit into the mix. Ask us about open houses - what we do and how we do it!

Find out what we do to market your home and get it SOLD. Here is a peek.

Selling a home in Denver - Marketing

Selling a home is more, much more than putting a sign on the yard and entering the home in the multiple listing service site. When interviewing agents find out what they do to get your home sold.

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Brian and Rita Burke
Kenna and Co. Denver Real Estate

303.955.4220 Office
303.710.2609 Brian Direct
888.417.4347 Fax

Posted by Rita Burke ~303.955.4220 ~ Greenwood Village CO Real Estate on 01/18/2009 12:08 AM

Comments (4)

Can an Open House Sell Your House? in the Home Selling Channel

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4 Comments on Can an Open House sell your house?

JAN

Rita - This is a great tool for those interested in putting their home on the market. YOur explanations are right on! K M

Rita I like your explanation as well although I have only sold a home 2 times in 23 years. I will never see the value in them for a home seller. Agent yes...home seller...No! If someone wants to see a home bad enough and they are serious they will schedule an appointment. Looking back a the two I sold via an open house I know they would have made an appointment if the home was not held open.

JAN

Open Houses are a great way to get exposure - especially if it's in a highly visible area. Good luck!

FEB

I know of only one person who sold the home from holding an open house, and that person was actually me back in 2001. I met the buyer and his Realtor at the open house and they scheduled five appointments during the next two weeks, as well as coming to one more open house, before putting a purchase offer in on the house and ultimately buying it.

However, during my time as a Realtor in Texas many decades ago, I got lots and lots of buying Clients from open houses, and I know many Realtors here who get lots of buying Clients from open houses, so they definitely are not useless, except, possibly, to the owner of the house that is being held open.

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