Do Open Houses Help Sell Your Home?

Wow. I’m surprised at the negativity around open houses. I have found a few real estate agents at open houses that I have used. I have also put a few bids on houses I have found when visiting their open house. Just offering my experience.

ABSOLUTELY NO, they do not help sell homes!

Check out this article that quotes an NAR study that found that open houses were effective only 2% OF THE TIME.

http://finance.yahoo.com/education/real_estate/article/101456/10_Things_Your_Real_Estate_Broker_Wont_Tell_You

I like open houses for a few reasons. Most important, I’ve sold about 25% of the houses I’ve held open, not a great track record, but not bad. Especially considering that in most of those sales I ended up also representing the buyer (who I met at the open house) who did not have an agent. So those buyers may not have seen and bought that house if it wasn’t open. I also like them because it’s the best way I know of to meet, talk to and learn from people who are out there looking at homes for sale – to get the pulse of what’s on home shoppers minds. I also get a good fix on what those shoppers think of the house we’re in – and I prefer that feedback to a realtor tour anyday. They may not buy the house and I may not ‘pick up’ a buyer, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a successful open house. I guess it depends on where you are and how you approach it. I work in the Foothills area of Tucson, AZ, and we get a lot of people from California, the midwest, the northeast, and elsewhere. A lot of them don’t have agents yet, and they’re thinking of moving or buying a second home here – we have a lot of second homeowners. And many of them are friendly, interesting and full of questions. So it’s usually a fun and informative afternoon, if you just throttle back, take it easy, and enjoy the people you meet.

If open houses worked, there would be no homes for sale by unrepresented sellers left on the market. Plant the sign, open the front door and let the buyers roll through.

Most agents who profess to open house success are thinking of buyers gained who eventually bought a different house, not the one held open.

Open Houses are not effective. I’ve sold a few homes with an open house and it can work but I think agents have better options for their time.

Its a good alternative if the agent has no business and needs to do what he can. An internet connection so you can some desk work can make it better.

If open houses were really that effective then no would need brokers to sell their home and the owners would just have open houses.

We held an open house, as part of marketing our 4,400 sq ft home, 6 bdrms 56baths, 1 acre, many trees, 4 fireplaces.

People stared at my wife’s antiques and the electronics in the game room, the big screen, a rifle collection in a locked display case, people looked at imported furniture. There were more people than we could watch, too many rooms on two floors. Someone went through a drawer and stole some antique silverware stored there,

Most of those visitors probably could not even even have afforded the property. It was entertainment to them. Maybe the listing agent got some leads.

Never again. Pictures on a website, then pre-qualify and know who is visiting, then do it by private appointment showings.

When I listed my house and asked if the agent would hold an open house, it didn’t seemed like he was thrilled about it. After hearing his thoughts and experience conducting open houses, it made sense to me that they appear to be a waste of time. Afterall, if a buyer is seriously looking for a home, are they really going to wait until Sunday to go looking.

Hey. Well, I am currently in the midst of an open-house, on a sunny Sunday. I held it between 2 and 5 pm (supposedly the best time). And, not one person has come yet. And, I advertised it in the paper.

So, I would concur with those who declare an open house to be a waste of time. Hm. Nonetheless, its a great way to motivate the teens to help clean and get the place look`en good. I don`t know about everyone else, but I sure get a lot more done if I feel like someone is coming over. I can whirl around and get tons done, that would otherwise be left.

Now, I have a delightfully clean house and am planning a night out for dinner. Life is good.

Yes, the real estate agent will get some leads from open housing your property, but if they present the house right, they do get buyers. The main problem most real estate agent’s have is they don’t do enough open houses to really get the house sold.

What do you think would happen if you were an agent who had a 90 day listing and did a four hour open house every other week on your home. Then they took the clients around, negotiated with them to put in an offer and didn’t try to sell them anything else unless they were fairly sure the buyer wasn’t going to buy yours?

All in all, I have done open houses and I’ve been extremely successful at selling the houses I open house. However, I keep reading that it doesn’t work. That baffles me.