Open houses are extremely popular in the Real Estate community. The reason home sellers and real estate agents like open houses is because they typically generate a great deal of foot traffic. Every Sunday morning, almost religiously, the signs go up with arrows, and sometimes balloons, directing would be home buyers to the open houses all over town. Several prominent and tenured real estate agents claim to "have built their entire business" on this weekend ritual. These agents are proponents of "opens" because they see them as a major source of exposure for a listing and because they allow potential buyers and neighbors easy access to the home. Over the years I've attended open houses as a listing agent, a buyer's agent and a buyer; here are some open house tips I've picked up along the way.
If you are going to host an "open" here are a few words of advice:
1. Advertise everywhere. This includes Facebook, Craigslist, Newspapers, blogs and websites. Opens listed on the MLS will syndicate out to Trulia, Zilliow and most other large real estate search engines. This is the best type of advertising because you reach the broadest audience.
2. Use at least two signs. One on each corner with arrows pointing towards the property. Make the property easy to find.
3. Make sure the property is in pristine condition! That means it is clean, smells great, looks great and has lots of light.
4. Provide color promotional flyers with lots of pictures of the property and monthly payment estimates from a local mortgage broker. Also provide the seller's disclosure, upgrade lists and any other documents with relevant information about the home.
5. Place a sign in sheet and require visitors to provide name, email and phone numbers.
6. Offering food, snacks or drinks is optional but not really a common practice.
7. If possible, try to schedule the open house when you will not be competing with other prominent Sunday events like religious ceremonies, parades, athletic events or anything else that will hurt traffic.
The validity and effectiveness of opens might be up for debate but most home sellers and their real estate agents are hosting them. Consequently, in order to keep up with the rest of your competition they are necessary. If you follow the steps I've outlined above you will maximize attendance at your open house and expose your home to the broadest possible audience.
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