They don’t work. There, I said it.
Some of my fellow Realtors may not appreciate me posting this, but the truth is, open houses add little to no value to a successful marketing plan for selling a property.
What many agents tell their clients is open houses are a great way to ‘expose’ your property to the largest number of potential buyers and therefore help you get the highest possible selling price. Some clients even insist that their agents do open houses. But statistics show only a small percentage of all properties are sold through open houses.
Who goes to open houses? Neighbours and people without agents. If you like the idea of having your neighbours and complete strangers off the street looking in your closets, then by all means, have an open house. But the serious buyers, those actively looking with intent to buy, are working with a Realtor. They will book an appointment to see your property through their agent because they want to buy your property, not to see what condiments are in your fridge.
Why do agents do open houses? Some agents are either dumb or naive and actually do think they sell properties, but most use them strictly as a prospecting and networking tool to meet potential new clients. This is why you almost never see seasoned and successful agents hosting open houses. We have better things to do!
[The exception to this is perhaps in a down market where the number of agent-showings are dramatically reduced (as was the case from about Oct 2008-March 2009 most recently). In this type of market, an argument could be made that any potential increase in exposure could help sell your property and should be pursued.]
What are your thoughts? Leave me a comment or drop me an email.
03.04.12 at 4:02 pm
Josie Stern
I agree with you about open house to a point. When listing agents pass on the responsibility of their open houses to their assistants or other agents who are just babysitting the property to get leads – open houses are a waste of time. But we have sold many buyers (who are working with other agents) on our listings by simply being conducting the open houses ourselves and selling the buyer on the area or on the hose. When an agent does an open house and knows nothing about the mechanics of the house, knows nothing about the area, it’s amenities, schools etc. the open house is a big waste if time. But successful listing agents who don’t do open houses themselves because they tell the sellers that open houses are a waste if time, are just being self serving. They just feel that open houses are beneath them. So to sum this up, open houses are a waste of time if they are not conducted by an expert, if they are handed off to agents who only care to get new buyers and not actually sell the house. Sorry but I disagree with your general statement that “open houses are a waste of time.” I consider myself to be a successful agent and I too would rather be with my family on the weekend instead of doing open houses. But what I do know is that if I or my partner do open houses we work hard to sell that house. Usually it’s to buyers who have seen the house with their agents who have not been convinced about the house. As experienced agents, we clinch the deal.