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OPEN HOUSE

By
Real Estate Agent with ERA BEACH BALL REALTY

I AM ALWAYS AMAZED WHEN I WATCH HGTV.  A HOUSE IS FIXED UP OR STAGED AND THEN THE REALTOR HAS AN OPEN HOUSE. WOW LOOK AT ALL THE PEOPLE THAT COME THROUGH.  HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE HAD AN OPEN HOUSE AND HAD THAT MUCH TRAFFIC?  IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE TO HAVE A REALLY GREAT OPEN HOUSE , I SURE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR IT,

MAKE A CLIENT HAPPY TODAY AND FIND THE HOUSE OF THEIR DREAMS.

YOU ARE GREAT  ACTIVE RAIN

Comments (16)

Ken Land
Fairway Independent Mortgage - Weddington, NC
NMLS#108157

Why do realtors do open houses?  I would be curious to know how many sales actually do come from these. 

Earlier in my career Realtors would talk me into helping host or be involved w/ open houses - most were a pure waste of time. 

Thelma good post and will be curious to see what gets posted here.

Good luck out there!

Aug 08, 2008 03:37 PM
Raylene Lewis
Century 21 Beal, Inc. - College Station, TX

They come to the open house becasue they want to be on TV. Get HGTV there and you'll have loads of folks. lol. otherwise in my town, good luck if you get more than 2 with one or both being the neighbor.

Aug 08, 2008 03:38 PM
Rich Mielke
REMAX Results, Frederick MD - Frederick, MD
REALTOR, Frederick Maryland Real Estate

Maybe I should buy a van and put HGTV logos on it and park it in front of my next open house.

Aug 08, 2008 03:42 PM
Gail Robinson
William Raveis Real Estate - Southport, CT
CRS, GRI, e-PRO Fairfield County, CT

Hi Thelma,

Yes, I had an Open House like that two weeks ago.  The home had a spectacular view of the harbor, sandy beach, and it was a perfect sunny day.  I had another one three months ago where over 100 people came through in 3 hours (direct waterfront townhouse).  In my experience, the home has to have something pretty amazing about it to get that kind of attention in this market. 

I had another Open House a few weeks ago and only one couple came through.  Is there anything that feels longer than an Open House where no one comes?  Three hours can turn into eight hours when you are just waiting.

I wonder what they do to get the crowds on HGTV.  They must let people know that they will be on TV.  Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame!

Aug 08, 2008 03:44 PM
Shirley Parks
Sands Realty 210-414-0966 - San Antonio, TX
Broker, 210-414-0966, San Antonio TX Real Estate

Hi Thelma,  Usually all the neighbors come over to see the house.  On the last open house I had (with no cookies) a lady came in with her four kids because she thought there would be cookies.  LOL

Aug 08, 2008 03:49 PM
MeLisa Minter, Realtor
Minter Real Estate Services - Taylor Lake Village, TX
Bay Area Houston Real Estate Agent

Rich, I like that I idea. That would be too funny.  But at least we would get that much needed traffic.

Thelam, I am up right now doing sign-in sheets for my open houses on Saturday and Sunday.   I just finished making home-made peanut butter and sugar cookies to bake at the Open-Houses and I have all of my standard Open-House gear ready.  I also am going to put in a few freeze pops in my cooler for the kids.

I did a huge email blast to nearby realtors twice this week,  posted it on Craigslist, ActiveRain MLS, backpages.com and with Trulia.  I also put my Open House Signs out two days before the Open-Houses.  I forgot to do my neighbor invites and I'm kicking myself for that, but anyway, we will see what happens tomorrow.  The other thing is that I know a few area brokerages that do their open-houses the second Saturday of every month, so I decided to piggy-back on all of their print advertisements and signage.

I'll let you know how they go this weekend.  I must say I am excited and better get to bed.

Wish me Luck!!

Aug 08, 2008 03:49 PM
Jan Gaweda
Realty Mark CityScape- BUY SELL FIX FLIP RENT - Norristown, PA
BUY SELL FIX FLIP RENT

People coming over just for the cookies. That is funny. I think open houses are waste of time. I believe it only gives the impression to the home owners that you are doing something. The NAR mentions that something around 1% of all homes sold are sold via open house.

Aug 08, 2008 03:52 PM
Ken Land
Fairway Independent Mortgage - Weddington, NC
NMLS#108157

Jan,

I figured the stats had to be pretty low and based on the above comments it begs to question why do it other than to please the client.  Gail - you had some serious traffic in some unique homes - was it truly interested people or were they just nosey people looking to catch a peek at something they could never afford? 

 

Aug 08, 2008 04:01 PM
Geri Doyle
RE/MAX Precision - Ankeny, IA
CRS, E-PRO Relocation 6415215678

I've been selling for 9 years. When I first started in the business I used to have tons of people go thru my open houses. But then the internet came along,  people go on line now. Which I think is great.  I had an open house last night zippo came thru. Over the years I have gotten a lot of prospects thru open houses. I've had 2 sales from an open house  I have them for an hour here in Newton, I do them to appease the sellers.

Geri Doyle

Doyledevoe.com

Aug 08, 2008 04:08 PM
Lisa Friedman
Alliance Realtors - Bedminster, NJ
Central New Jersey Real Estate

I actually sold a house at an open house recently!  Think it was the first time in nineteen years!

Aug 08, 2008 04:12 PM
Lisa Hill
Florida Property Experts - Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Beach Real Estate

I've had a few like that. But it's usually because I sent invitations to all the neighbors, and/or people in my contact manager.

Aug 08, 2008 04:36 PM
LS Rogers Realty
LS Rogers Realty - Richardson, TX

Traffic is easy. Everyone wants to see what a home for sale looks like in their neighborhood.  Sometimes you will get buyers looking in the area. But actually selling it from an open house, doesn't really happen for me. But like MeLisa's doing, blast and offer and you'll get traffic. The sellers like traffic. And you may pick up a seller or buyer.

Aug 08, 2008 04:37 PM
Stavrula "Sam" Crafa, RNC,GRI, CDPE, PSA
Future Home Realty - Seminole, FL
Providing the integrity and service you deserve.

I've never sold a house because of an open but I've had closed deals from buyers that have come by. I don't do a lot of them but I do them. It makes the sellers happy, I occationally will get buyers from them. Sold a home last month to a buyer I met at an open house. The sale was for $280,000.

I've set some open house rules for myself:

I always do the first open. I may do more, if I have good traffic at the first. Or I will ask for other agents to do them.

I never do an open house on a Sunday during football season.

I try and get other agents in the general area to do an open at the same time. More signs draw more attention and we promote each others opens. That helps.

With enhansed listings on Realtor.com, I can promote my open on line. I have acturally had people stop by that have see the open house notice on Realtor.com.

There has never been one marketing statagie that has brought a significant amount of people in. I've had equal numbers of people come from newspaper ads, signs, flyers, post cards etc. But if one stands out, I would say it's the old fashioned directional signs. I don't do cookies or give away gas cards. I want people that are genuenly looking for a home and if that means just one person comes by, that's ok with me. And if they are not already working with a Realtor, then I have a new buyer client! I don't mind the nosy neighbors either. I held an open house in a condo complex reciently. A neighbor came by and told me that others or watching to see if I can get the condo sold. If I do, their are 3 other sellers in the complex that will list with me. Do you think that was a open worth haveing? You bet!

 

Aug 08, 2008 04:56 PM
Jimmy McCall
JimmyMcCall.com - Cunningham, TN
The Ex-Mortgage Consultant

Thelma,  I am not a Realtor but I have been to a few open houses and I have never seen too many people.  It makes you wonder what they are putting on the sign.

Aug 08, 2008 05:11 PM
Dennis Wilson GRI, SRES, AHWD, e-PRO
Century21 Access America - East Norwalk, CT

HGTV gives some homeowners the wrong impression because not many open house have that much traffic, but advertising is key to a good open house use you online presents to attract more visits.

Aug 08, 2008 09:11 PM
Gail Robinson
William Raveis Real Estate - Southport, CT
CRS, GRI, e-PRO Fairfield County, CT

Hi Thelma,

There are always some people who are just window shopping with no intent to buy, but I find that some people are coming to check you over as a potential listing agent for selling their home, others are potential clients who may not be right for this property, but I'm able to sign them up and show them other properties, others are already signed with an agent and are checking out the house for themselves, and some of these are the future buyers of the home, who want to stop by and ask questions without their real estate agent around.  I've had this happen a number of times and sometimes I ask them straight out what agent they are working with or if they have been to the house with their agent -  and they tell me. 

Once in a great while, I actually sell the house to someone who came to the Open House.  There was one couple who refused to sign up with a real estate agent and came to my open houses for several years.  She finally bought one of them, signing the paperwork right at the dining room table during the Open House. 

Aug 10, 2008 01:12 AM