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

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.