In my previous post, I discussed how to determine if a home was a good choice for an Open House.  Now, we will focus on the right reasons to hold a home open.  This is something to take seriously.  We are asking homeowners to leave their home & let it be canvassed by members of the general public, for whom we cannot vouch their authentic interest, in the hopes that this will create a viable prospect for the sale of their home.  If we have not done our homework & prepared properly, at the very least, the effort has been a huge waste of everyone's time. 

Some of the reasons commonly given for holding an Open House are:  "The Seller's asked me to",   "I'm not getting any activity, so I need to hold an Open House,"My clients expect me to advertise their house, so I need to do an Open House," or "I'm not very busy so I have some time to do Open Houses."

Not!  None of the above is an optimal reason to conduct an Open House.  The Seller's asked me to - No, the Seller's hired you to give professional counsel & direction in the marketing and sale of their home.  Can you imagine this reasoning used in the following scenario - Patient to Doctor, "I need you to perform an operation because I've determined that this is the best solution to cure my condition."  No MD would acquiesce to a request like that simply because they were asked.  Professionals are hired to provide solutions and create options.  They are hired FOR their expertise.  Determining the viability of an Open House should be the responsibility of the real estate agent as one part of an extensive marketing strategy.

Reasons #2 - I'm not getting any activity on this listing, so I need to hold an Open House.  Holding an Open House will not magically transform a home with limited traffic into a hot portal of activity.  If a home is not getting showing requests, it's usually one of 2 things - a pricing problem or a staging problem.  No amount of increased exposure from a Open House will correct either of these 2 defects.  The solution is to discuss the limitations that an over-priced, improperly stage listing is creating for the Seller due to decreased showings, delayed offers and rapidly diminishing sale prospects.  Emphasize the fact that a well priced listing can NEVER be kept a secret!  Well Presented, Attractively Priced Homes are always Winners .  Successful Open Houses affirm this fact.

Reason #3 - I'm not busy and/or I need to show that I'm doing some advertising of my services. Not being busy is the very worst reason for an agent to hold an Open House which will not be successful.  New Agents and/or non-busy agents badly need to work in Open Houses that will guarantee them a good return on the investment of their time & energy.  One of the most debilitating things to do when your career is in a downward slide is to sit at multiple open houses which no one visits which guarantees that you will not be selling anything today.  There are methods to turn this particular scenario around...but we'll discuss that in a follow-up blog post.

Here are some right reasons to hold an Open House.

• Hold a home open to get buyers for the home you are Holding Open!  This is not counter-intuitive.  So, many times, I hear agents say, I'm holding this house open even though it's not a very good listing to get buyers.  Huh???  If it's not a good listing, why would buyers want to visit you there?
• Hold a home open to get buyers for YOUR other listings.  This demands that you choose very wisely the home that you are holding open.  You want people to be sufficiently wowed by your Open House that if they do not find this house to be the perfect fit, they are willing to trust your recommendations about what else they may want to preview. (This also holds true for other listings on your local MLS...the issue is building credibility & trust!
• Hold a home open to present potential future Sellers with a good pre-view of how you conduct your business.  An open house should feature examples of your marketing efforts.  These can include flyers & brochures that you have created.  This is a great opportunity to give visitors the opportunity to pre-view virtual tours or a real estate shows presentation.  Articles that you have written or blogged about should be attached to the Listing fact sheet along with other suggested homes to preview.  This can also be a great opportunity to highlight your local knowledge by creating virtual shows of the area in which the home you are located is in.
• Hold a home open to Talk with the Neighbors.  Statistics indicate that once a home is placed on the market, within 6-12 months, someone on the same street will be considering a move.  Don't know why this is...it just seems to happen.  Don't wait for the day of the Open House to call & introduce yourself.  Call a week before the Big event to Invite People in the Neighborhood to your Open House Party.  You know, they want to see the inside of the great home, extend an invitation!  Then while you're at the Open House, call again to remind them to stop by for coffee & donuts & get FREE information about what homes are selling for in their neighborhood.

Holding an Open House for the reasons above will dramatically increase the goodwill you generate with your current Seller Clients & will significantly increase your chances of getting many, many more Listings for your Open House Efforts.

Click here to read the previous Post:  Creating Captivating Open Houses

© 2007 Audu Real Estate  All rights reserved