r/RealEstate • u/GlitterBombBomb • 5d ago
Homeseller Open house - yes or no?
House is going up next week. Markets slowing down but similar houses are pending and we live in a very desirable area in a very desirable neighborhood.
Do you like open houses for selling the house? Why or why not?
As a buyer I liked it because the listing agent was there and we got to see if other people were interested.
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u/Annonymouse100 5d ago
I don’t see a downside to having an open house or two. There is a value to having feedback even from the looky loos.
But as a real estate agent, I am constantly surprised how many of my buyers do not want to bother me with showings. A lot of buyers, even when working with an agent and fully qualified and ready to buy, will go through open houses on their own (despite my constant urging to just call me and I’ll set up a private showing!). Being able to pop into an open house on their own schedule between other errands on a Saturday or Sunday is super convenient. Sometimes they don’t even set up a private showing after and I end up writing offers on homes that I don’t see until the inspections!
A well attended open house also helps drive offers because those well qualified buyers that are walking through on their own often see the other bodies and view them as competition whether they are or not.
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u/Jenikovista 5d ago
Totally, this is true. When I was looking, I only booked appointments for places that were an obvious fit. I went to a lot of open houses for potential fits because I was interested, but not excited enough to bug my agent, the listing agent, or make the seller vacate for an hour. I did end up putting in offers on a few of those.
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u/rednineofspades 4d ago
Put it up for sale Wednesday/Thursday and schedule an open house for that very first Saturday. We looked at a desirable property when it got listed on a Thursday with a scheduled open house for Saturday. We made an offer the next day and a deadline to respond by 7pm. We knew if there was going to be an open house we would lose our negotiating power if another person made an offer. They took it and cancelled the open house. It created a sense of urgency for us knowing other people were going to see it on Saturday!
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u/rordawg081 5d ago
Absolutely, what's it going to hurt? Especially now that all these shitty AI photos are posted with the listing so you have a false perception of what the house actually looks like.
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u/Jenikovista 5d ago
Generally I fall in the "the more who see it, the more likely you'll find a buyer" camp.
However, an empty open house can also make a buyer think no one else is interested, question their instincts, and adapt their price strategy. Since your market is slowing down, I would let your agent lead this strategy.
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u/Pretty-Ear6398 Agent 5d ago
If an empty house is a primary concern, it's when staging makes the most sense.
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u/Jenikovista 5d ago
Sorry, by empty I meant no other buyers :)
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u/Pretty-Ear6398 Agent 5d ago
Gotcha ... from my experience, buyers won't think that if nobody else is viewing the house at the same time.
When hosting open houses, I'll be there for two hours with nobody visiting and then all of a sudden 8 different groups of people show up. Then nobody again and a little later maybe one or two more visitors.
The people that receive the best value for their time are the ones that don't have to compete with others when looking at bathrooms or seeing what the view looks like.
An empty open house has never been a negative.
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u/tompa_baye 5d ago
Frustrated sellers tend to diss them thinking the realtor is just using your house to find clients, but I think they help. I personally bought my last home after an open house.
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u/raliegh_ 5d ago
I like going to them.
If you’re priced right, with good pictures.
Pre qualified shoppers will make appointments.
Open houses bring agents and gawkers.
The last house I sold, we accepted an offer the day the pictures went live prior to the open house.
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u/Pretty-Ear6398 Agent 5d ago
With our listings, 60% of them are purchased by folks who visited our open houses.
But most agents seems to host them for the sole purpose of generating leads.
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u/winkleftcenter 5d ago
Two of our houses sold to people that came to our open house and one had multiple offers. We did make sure all jewelry; medications and other easily moved valuables were removed during all showings
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u/sunshinewhiskey18 5d ago
Our house sold to someone who happened upon the open house. So yes, I would.
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u/lizardjustice 5d ago
All the other agents in my area told my realtor at some local meeting that open houses are a waste of time. We had many. Our house was one of the few in the area that got an offer. Funny that other houses in the area are now running open houses.
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u/nikidmaclay Agent 5d ago
Yes. Not only will people who don't have an agent yet and maybe interested in it pay attention, but the marketing opportunity for an open house is often more profitable than the actual event. Posting "hey I've got any listings!" Online blends in. An actual event tagged with local towns, accounts, that you can share with your on people once your agent posted, is a huge opportunity in front of people that may have not seen the listing or paid attention to what you've already put out there. It's fall, there are less people looking for homes right now, you need to do everything you can. And don't just post photos, they need to be doing videos, they need to be telling buyers how easy it is to get into this house, and why they should.
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u/Dullcorgis 5d ago
Do you eant the best price for your house? Make sure as many people as humanly possible see it. Open houses all weekend and a weekday and yes to all requests to view it.
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u/Ignorant_Idiot69 4d ago
You tell me.
You felt better about a home purchase when you saw other people at the same open house.
You don't even know if those other people at the open house were just neighbors.
This is what open houses are for, aside from the client farming, but they are only effective when you have them when the property first hits the market, preferably after a month of coming soon status in MLS.
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u/JorgeZea 4d ago
Exposure (online) and foot traffic are very important.
They put eyes on your property either online or physically and you get as much people to see it and to walk through it. I would not merely post the Open House in the MLS ... which feeds all other portals ...but promote it in the neighborhood. As simple 500-1000 post cards with postage cost aprox. $700-$1000 and getting a mailing list is piece of cake.... even better you can use EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail by USPS ... no post permit needed) which targets the Post Carrier Routes and you can send many more postcards for the same price to you neighbors.
Combine this with your Realtor®'s email list and social media feeds and a "Coming Soon Open House" yard sign and you will get people walking the house, see it and talking about it. Your Realtor® would also post it as a Broker Open (at a different date) ... so agents drop by as well.
All of this with some yummy snacks and soft drinks (also advertised) ...and you will have the tools to make the Open house a Success.
Always keep a log of the visitors and ask your Realtor® for the registry ... so you can verify how these leads were retargeted (via phone or via email as follow-up form the open house visit) ... if you have a tablet 8iPad) build a simple registration form with aQR code so people can register on the touch screen or via the QR ... this generates ready to use lists ...ask for email and phone numbers as required fields and address as optional.
The open house is a massive undertaking, not simply opening the door and sitting while people walk around.
When done correctly and follow-up actions are taken, it is VERY effective.
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u/NicholeVesper Agent 4d ago
Open houses are a great idea! Make sure your agent posts it in MLS about a week before so buyers shopping online will know it’s available to see
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u/Fun-Historian1315 4d ago
Id do one, ideally that first weekend. In a good area it gets people through fast and can stir up some buzz. Worst case you lose a Sunday afternoon and deal with a few nosy neighbors. Just have the place spotless.
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u/ResiGrade 3d ago
I'd do one, mostly because it compresses interest into a single afternoon and buyers can see each other walking through, which does more for urgency than any listing description. If you're worried about randos and nosy neighbors, ask your agent about requiring sign in and putting away valuables and prescriptions, which you should do anyway. The bigger thing in a slowing market is pricing it right the first weekend, since an open house can't save a number that's off.
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u/InsectElectrical2066 3d ago
Absolutely YES!!!
This gets buyers around other buyers seeing that others are interested and they may want to put a bid in fast and good. I'd also tell some extended family about it and come and act like buyers pointing out nice things they see. Make sure your agent blasts to other agents especially by phone to tell what king of buyer they might have that may want to buy it. And put flyers in Grocery stores with a pic announcing the Open House. Even if you have to drive around to place them on memo boards or put an ad in the paper with a pic. $500 for the add to get more people there and hopefully get them in a bidding war or at least sell fast lowering your carrying costs.
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u/dmcee1729 2d ago
If you are doing an offer night then I would totally do an open house to drum up offers. Personally, I like open houses as a buyer because I can scope out a place first and if I’m seriously considering I have my agent walk through. They are disruptive to the seller though (so are showings) but I also saw a house this summer do no open houses because they wanted serious buyers only and they sold way over ask so it is up to you.
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u/djm1613 1d ago
As one person suggested, list the house online first during the week and hold an open house that weekend. You’re sending a message that you really want to sell.
You’ll also get the neighborhood looky loos their chance to see the place and provide their feedback to the realtor. They might know of someone who is relocating to the area and would be interested.
Warning: There may be people who are interested and are bodies through the door. However it all boils down to their ability to qualify for a loan unless you find that magical unicorn “all cash” buyer. That’s where your local realtor works their magic. Good luck!
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u/BathroomMaximum1721 1d ago
You will get a lot of tire kickers mostly but you have nothing to lose by doing an open house.
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u/sonicinfinity100 5d ago
Open houses are for the realtors future business . There is less than a 1% chance someone walks into an open house (unrepresented) and says they want to buy it. serious buyers schedule showings.
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u/JorgeZea 4d ago
This is why the seller must be involved with the preparation and get the visitors' log directly so the seller can supervise the preparation, planning, marketing for the event, work, follow-up actions and feedback received. An informed seller must be "the boss" and approve the strategy and intercat with it ... to make it effective. The Realtor® will also be looking for new leads .. so the seller must contral the work toward his own property.
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u/Equivalent-Tiger-316 5d ago
One the launch weekend is fine. And one later if you do a price drop.
Buyers should not talk to the listing agent.
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u/Spirited_Flow8639 5d ago
no because some people act like animals and their kids are even worse in someone elses home .
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u/G_e_n_u_i_n_e 5d ago
Definitely.
Any potential buyer that is unrepresented can see the property.