Creating A Captivating Open House

When I entered the real estate profession 12 years ago, my broker told me that I would not stand a chance at succeeding if I did not do Sunday Open Houses.  When I transferred to another Broker a couple of years later, I heard the exact opposite advise, " Open Houses are usually a waste of time".  So which one was right.  Well, both were!  Open Houses are a waste of time unless they are prepared and conducted properly.  A well presented Open House is a strategy successful saavy agents use to effectively market their listings & skill set to the general public & create positive exposure for their clients. Unfortunately, many agents have never been given basic instructions about how to ensure that an Open House is worth the time & others do not want to put in the efforts to ensure that their time...which is money....is well worth it.

The fact is that Millions of Americans seem to find Open Houses to be an engaging hobby.  Don't ask me why.  Maybe, it's part of our morbid curiosity about how other people live; sort of like the house hunting version of tabloid voyeurism.  But if millions of people are going through Open Houses, largely hosted by real estate agents & our national statistics indicate that only 3% of homes are selling through Open Houses, then we have a 97% Failure Rate.  While many of these open house attenders will not necessarily buy a home they walk through, we are doing a dismal job of capturing prospects who have indicated that they are probably going to be buying sometime, somewhere.  Let's look at some vital issues which should be considered when planning to hold a house open.

The most important aspect of preparing for a Successful Open House is Picking the Right House.  Not every home is suitable for holding an Open House.  Have you ever gone on the Open House Needle in the Haystack Search?  The one which has so many twists & turns that you wonder if you'll ever find it?  There's a simple rule which will greatly assist in determining if a home qualifies as a good Open House Prospect.  It's this:  Can I Easily find this home (from a main road) by following a Maximum of 3 Signs.  You don't have to go to the house to ascertain this...simply take out your map & look!

Picking the Right House involves more than being able to locate the home easily for prospective buyers.  The right home is also a home that is priced to Sell.  Listing an Over-priced home is something we have all done at least once, but compounding the unfortunate error by continuing to advertise this embarrassing fact by holding it Open continuously is a disservice to the owner & the public. 

Perhaps, it would be better to be honest with the client and say something like this:  "Mr. Seller, as a contentious professional real estate agent, I have pledged to represent your interest to the best of my ability and resources.  Holding your home Open while it is priced significantly above the prevailing market will result in buyer's using your home to go shopping for a better deal elsewhere and eventually hasten the arrival of offers which are 20-25% below the average successful sale."  This simple conveyance of truth during a listing presentation may have the unanticipated, happy result of creating a Good Open House prospect because you have convinced the seller to create a Saleable Listing.

So in Summary, Here are Some Factors to consider in choosing the Right House.

The right house is:

• Located in area which can be easily accessed by no more than 3 Directional Signs & bring good traffic
• Priced at or Below the Current Market
• One which has Good Curb Appeal
• One Which Shows Well on the Inside...clear of excess clutter, clean & properly presented
• A Home which is Suitable for the Weather Conditions...ie. don't hold a vacant house with No Heat Open in Winter!

The Next Blog Post will Explore the Right Reasons to Hold An Open House.  Seller's hire real estate agents to ensure their best interests are served during the sale of their home.  Review the list & then look at your recent Open Houses.  Have they fit at least 3 out of 5 of these basic criteria?  Let's learn to work more effectively & efficiently to ensure that Open Houses are worth our time & the efforts o.