Are Open Houses a Necessity ???

Wayne - I enjoy open houses and find them of great value.  The focus is to promote the property but the introduction to new buyers and networking has greatly benefited me.  All the best to you and your business.

I have never sold a house due to an open house. I have made a ton of contacts and clients, but never closed a deal. Sellers seem to love when you hold their house open also!

Open houses serve two purposes for me, and they're pretty much in line with what Kenneth stated.  1, it gets people in the property.  You can see a house online, watch the virtual tour, see a video on YouTube, and still not get the true feel of a house until you're inside.

2, it gets me in the path of potential home buyers.  I love talking to folks, providing them with free info, and getting them interested in my and what I do in a low pressure, non-sales like way.  Hey, they came to my party, why not talk to them and host them and try to click with them?

Open Houses are necessary.... #1, they appease the seller... But the reality is you almost NEVER sell a home at an open house, but what you do get is a list of potential buyers and contacts to add to your SOI, and you have some time to begin the relationship on a face to face basis.  You cant take the relationship out of the relationship business.

I have seen agents have great years last year, while others did poorly... But they stuck to the basics, and OH's was one of the basics.

Those 87% online USE being online to find potential homes.  Once they find homes, they want to see them.  Another question is - what can a good agent do ONLINE to promote an open house?  At that point, the buyer is already interested in the home, AND knows what it costs (so hopefully is viewing a home within their budget). 

I love open houses!  I enjoy networking and getting to know the people in the neighborhood.  I guess the question is..  when was the last time you had a listing and didn't do an open house?  How did the sellers feel about that?

Add my two cents to what everyone else is saying. I tell my listing clients that the "Secret" about open houses, is that I will sell their property with my marketing plan.  The truth about the open house is that it is more of a benefit to me, to help me find new clients to tell them about my marketing system.

I love open houses because it is a great time to connect with other buyers and get feedback from potentiall buyers on the home. I know they don't really sell the home too often, but they don't hurt either.

Open houses just don't draw very many (often NO) people in my area, and never did even when the market was hot. RE is local- if they work in your area, use them. If they don't, why bother?

Even in this tough market we are finding open homes are bringing in loads of buyers.  I agree with a lot of the posts stating that we as realtors get the bulk of the benefit of doing the open homes.  While they may not sell the individual house, open homes help the whole process.  It gets people into the home, it gets buyers thinking about buying and an opportunity to get to know different areas and it gives us a chance to get in front of other potential sellers attending open homes in order to meet agents and see them in action.

Wayne-

The Open House is an excellant tool when used in conjunction with online sites. I post my open houses on Craigs List, Realtracs, Realtor.com and email them to my Distro list of email names.

It is also a big help with Listings as it shows the neighborhood you are active.