The question comes up all the time now. "I want to sell my house...do you host open houses?" My answer without question is a resounding YES. In a time where the itnernet plays a larger role in home buyers search a lot of people feel that an open house is a waste of their time. They have to leave the house for a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday. A bunch of strangers are going to walk through their house. The nosey neighbors are going to stop by. It does not sell the house.
While there is validation in some of the arguments people make as to why not to allow an agent to hold an open house; the benefits far outweigh them.
First, if your Realtor is doing it right; they will market the open house aggressively. I start by advertising it on the multiple listing service and on all the major search engines and websites that the buyers are visiting to search for their home. My statistics show that my clicks on a listing that I am holding an open house that is marketed as such increase by an average of 40%. Thus you have more potential buyers looking at your home. Some of which might not have clicked on your home without it. Why not increase the amount of people viewing your home?
Second, an open house allows your neighbors to view your home. yes, they may be the noisy neighbor. However; they may have a friend or relative considering moving to that neighborhood. By them viewing the house they can be your best source for a sale. People always confide in friends and family when they are considering a move. This is one way to help someone sell your house for you. We all like to pick our neighbors.
Third, with the proper signage located on major intersections leading to your house you will draw people who may be thinking of moving but have not sat down to do some research yet. Your home may be their "dream home". In fact, this happened to me on my last open house I held. I had a prospective buyer come in from my signs. they wanted to live in that neighborhood but had not had the time to do research yet. They saw the signs and stopped by. A week later we were under contract for that home.
Fourth, the power of social media can only enhance the exposure your home will receive. I blog about each and every open house I participate in. This increases my exposure on search engines and moves me to the top of a list. if someone starts by looking up a neighborhood to find a little more information about it; the chances are they are going to see my blog about the open house and the home on the FIRST page and click on it. They may not come to the open house or may find it after the fact; but your exposure has just increased on the home to more buyers.
Fifth, an open house marketed with flyer's to potential neighborhoods that might be a move up to that neighborhood or an apartment complexes for those starter homes increases the chances of your home being on list of homes people will consider when they begin looking for a home. It might even get someone who had not thought about looking for a home to consider your home now because it is more affordable than they thought. I can attest that I have sold some homes where four and six weeks later I have received calls from buyers asking if that house was still available.
Sixth, feedback. I find this to be the most valuable part of doing an open house. I will ask each and every person that comes through the open house what they like and do not like about the house. This feedback can be vital to the seller in terms of making their home appealing to the most wide range of buyers on the market today. And with compettiton as great as it is; we all need an extra edge.
I have sold a home through each and every one of these benefits. So, if you are selling your home or consdiering selling your home....have your Realtor host an open house. It may lead to a quicker sale.
Dave dicecco
Realtor/Broker
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