Community Corner
Do Open Houses Sell Homes?
The market has changed. Do people still come to open houses? Do they buy?
A question that I am asked at nearly every appointment I go to is, “Will holding an open house help sell my home?"
The truth according to the National Association of Realtors is that less than 1 percent of homes sell as a result of an open house. In past articles, I have provided the statistics on Open Houses, but there are benefits that go beyond the home actually selling that day.
Company's coming! What do you do when you know you are going to have guest for the day? You start thinking in terms of cleaning and you do some of the things you have put off, like painting the water stain on your ceiling or cleaning out cabinets. You want your home to sparkle for your friends and family.
It’s the same way people plan for an open house. If your home has been on the market for a month or so, the routine has started to get old. Everyday you wonder if guests are coming. Knowing that guests are coming gives you the extra motivation to make the best presentation.
Besides creating a cleaning frenzy, open houses create an opportunity for your agent to promote your home in different sites that give you broader exposure. GeorgiaOpenHouse.com, Realtor.com,Trulia and Zillow plus the agents own website are a few.
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The Patch will also let you post open houses at no charge, and we will, of course, provide links in this weekly article to any Open Houses that are sent to us. Promoting on Facebook and Twitter also give your home additional opportunities to be viewed.
Open Houses may create a sense of urgency for the buyer who looks at your home during the week. They may choose to write an offer and not take the chance that your home will be sold as a result of an Open House. This has happened to many of my listings.
Traffic at an open house is unpredictable. You can have it advertised everywhere possible and you can have no one come. A Falcons football game or a holiday can result in no traffic. A pretty day or a rainy day, it is hard to predict, but do not despair if you have no one.
Your home will still get the added exposure and buyers may drive by, take a brochure, and have their agent show them on another day. People worry about neighbors coming but I tell a buyer that neighbors also help by spreading the news. They can tell friends, co-workers or family about the great home they saw.
Some people just do not like Open Houses. That is fine as well. With 90 percent of buyers going to the Internet before they visit a home, you can be assured that many potential buyers have visited your home on the Internet before they come through your door.
