It seems like today was another "Open House Day", sunny, hot and very few buyers! Boring!!!! I am sitting in a new home in a fairly new developement trying to sell any of the seven homes finished or under construction. It is pretty bad when the only people to walk through the door are a couple who a fellow Realtor out of my office, sold a pre-sale home to a month or so ago. They wanted to see the kitchen cabinets and ask a few questions. Three hours later I still had no other visitors and no sales. Am I crazy or what to do "Open Houses"?
I look at open house as a "you will never know" type of thing, you will never know if someone will show up to view, but if they show up and not only view but buy, we will be happy! I don't give up on holding a open house because we will never know, what the out come will be.
Have a wonderful day! Welcome to Activerain.
I had two of my biggest buyers from open houses. I put signs everywhere to direct them to me. Of course other times I've had no one show up but lenders wanting my business. Open houses are a roll of the dice!
There are a million reasons why not to do open houses. Wasting time is just the biggest! The problem is they are like a form of gambling - you never know when it will pay off. I backed off of them for the past year, but have started doing more of them again recently. For some stupid reason, I agreed to do two back to back this coming Sunday. Not sure what I was thinking with that one...
Just hang in there. Take your laptop with air card and do productive things. You will be totally prepared for when those buyers. You can do the same things at an open house that you would be doing on your computer at home.
We do them a lot. Not many people show up but it is good for the sellers. They
clean and repair things that they may not have done if we didn't have the open house.
It seems to make them feel like we are giving them a special service. Also I learn
things about the home that I may not have known if I hadn't sat there for three
hours. Boring yes but all and all I think a good thing.
I agree, you'll never know when the ready, willing and able prospect will be coming through the front door... it's a sort of numbers game, just like any other activity we do isn't it?
Hi Cyndy,
I can feel your pain on this one. Some open homes are obviously more productive than others. So far for 2008 I've had a few opens (not many, can count on one hand) closed on one (double-ended) and another new client since then. It's also a time for many other things for me, also being online to catch up with a few things.
IMHO, it demonstrates my willingness to do whatever it takes to get potential buyers in the front door. As for another agent "showing' the home, I always try to learn from others and I'm happy with that.
Depending on your open home training (and believe me it does make a difference) you may or may not want to sit an open with another. Most importantly, DON'T GIVE UP!
Open houses can be a part of your overall marketing effort, but no one method normally works. So you have to do lot of different things. If you keep pecking away some leads will develop and you will get busy making money.
I agree that open houses can often seem like a waste of time. Today was an exception for me. I had six separate parties come through, and I think I may actually end up working with at least two of them.
I don't usually look at them as a waste of time. Business-wise, perhaps, but I always take the articles I have printed to read "someday" and my real estate magazines. It's terrible, but sometimes I actually resent when people show up because they interrupt my reading. I get over it quickly, though, if they are interested in the house.
Keys to a successful open house...
# of directional signs
list of terrific alternative homes
terrific location
terrific personality
Ask every visitor if they'd like to make an offer on the house you're in
Get everyone's email address (minimum)
Cyndy
In my neck of the woods, we generally have a good turnout for open houses. Because we live on an island (Alameda CA), it's easier to go from house to house. The agents are very good about placing their directional signs on the main streets so we get a lot of prospects (okay, looky loos, too!).
Today was the first open house for my newest listing, and we must have had about 30 groups who came through in two hours. I have information on five prospects with whom I will nurture.
I've truly enjoyed doing open houses here (not so in other cities) because of the turnout. In the years that I've done open houses, however, I think I only have one buyer who actually bought the house I showed (that's closing next week). But I have met a lot of wonderful clients this way. Thus, open houses remains one of my best sources of clients.
When I do open houses, I make sure I have copies of local magazines and maps to give away, list of open houses in my area that week, list of active listings (I do have Pocket MLS so I can look up more details if needed). So if anyone is in a chatty mood or wants to know more about what's available, I am prepared.
Good luck on your next open house!
Hello. I had an open house in Tacoma, WA. I had it on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was much better. I was busy all the time, because people did stay for awhile. You need to do other things during open houses, so you double your productivity.
Cindy - Did you invite neighbors? I have always suggested to take the time the week before hand to invite the neighbors to come and see the home. Within the flyer, ask them if they know someone to either bring them or give you a call. Either way, neighbors are curious so why not extend them an invite. Just a thought, but that will sometimes work when you invite them and ask for their assistance. We use key words like "wouldn't you like to have some input on who your neighbors are? Help us sell this home to someone you know and trust."
Just a suggestion. Good luck in the future.
Cyndy-
We should have called one another because I didn't have 1 person at mine either....LOL.
I did all the marketing for it and so did the other 2 agents hosting the 1 across the street and the 1 around the corner....none of us are sure what is going on, but it seems to have slowed down again.
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