Whether you’re the homeowner or the Realtor, no one is really wild about open houses.
Homeowners don’t like them because they must get ready for them by cleaning and hiding the kids and animals. They can feel intrusive. Who wants a group of strangers walking through your property?
Realtors don’t like them. They know it puts pressure on the homeowner. Hosting and marketing them is a lot of work.
You can sell to a discount broker, an investor or off-market to an individual to avoid the open house. But if your plan is to sell your house at market value or above, you must prioritize an open house.
Here’s why:
First, when you schedule an open house, your agent will update the activity in the Multiple Listing Services (MLS). The MLS works similarly to Google. The more activity around a listing, the more that listing is going to pop up in searches.
The open house not only updates in MLS, but it propagates to other marketplaces like Zillow, Homes.com, Realtor.com and more. If someone searches for “open houses” and your house is in their area, your house will appear in their results.
There are several actions an agent can take to keep your listing fresh. These include price changes, updating the description, hosting a broker open, and organizing an open house. The agent might also consider rearranging the photos. Some of these actions are debated, but it’s worth the try.
Second
The directional signs put on corners and in your yard can attract more attention to your house.
How many commuters pass by your neighborhood every day thinking they would like to live closer to work? How many people go to the grocery store? How many take a walk? How many run errands and know someone who wants to move to the area?
Directional signs target those who aren’t searching online every day. People don’t usually know where houses are for sale if they’re not actively looking. They also don’t notice if they’re not on their everyday path.
Maybe most valuable, open houses help Realtors get first-hand feedback on your listing. When a buyer’s agent shows your house, that agent can act as a filter. They may withhold information that could be valuable to your agent.
When an agent is meeting the community face-to-face, he/she can ask targeted questions. What do you think of the property? What do you think of the price? What was your first impression? What is the positive? Negative?
This allows the agent to adjust the listing and marketing if needed.
Last bonus point. When an interested party sees that the house they want is open, it adds pressure to the buyer. This is true even for a buyer who has made an offer on your property.
It is common for an open house to be scheduled and an offer on the house be made beforehand. We like this. Usually, the buyer who made the offer will visit the open house. When they see the activity at the house, it creates competitiveness. It builds pressure. It also validates their decision to offer on the house.
Even a sparsely attended open house helps promote the listing. While it might seem like a pain and a waste of time, it still contributes to promotion.
