-2 Minute Read
As you may have noticed, I hosted a good ol’ Open House on Sunday. As I was preparing for the stages of setting up for Sunday, I received the one question I always get (BTW – I got this question a lot this week. My guess is because Open Houses aren’t as utilized since the post-Covid boom, and many don’t want them to become normal again.)
“Do Open Houses work, or are they a total waste of time?”
Well, there are a few different answers depending on what the inquirer is really asking. Q: Can the action fetch a contract on the spot? A: Yes, but it’s unlikely.
I can field questions like that for a long time.
Here’s where I have had the most success with Open Houses as they pertain to the address of the subject house for sale (read between the lines how you would like… different blog post).
Here’s the scene:
1. Open House Sunday 2 – 4.
2. Buyer sees a directional sign or an ad via an online portal (we used to buy ads in the “OPEN HOUSE” section of the newspaper, and if we really wanted to go the extra mile, we would buy an ad in the classified section of the newspaper, paying $ by the letter count, or “lines” the ad used within the box… usually three or four.)
3. Buyer tours the house and tells me, “I saw this house online, but my REALTOR lives 30 minutes away, and I didn’t want to bother them to show it to us, so I’ve been waiting on an open house to see it.”
4. Buyer likes the house and calls his/her REALTOR and takes the next steps of another showing or asks their REALTOR to fire up the Offer to Purchase documents.
5. Offer is submitted, and negotiations begin.
#3 is the money line and the crux point of this post, as scenarios like this have happened numerous times over the years. Truth told, it has probably happened more than I’m aware, and I just didn’t know it, as the buyer sometimes doesn’t like to show any cards while strolling around.
Why am I typing this? I got somewhere between 15 and 20 visitors at my Open House on Sunday! Obviously, this isn’t guaranteed, but I felt like I was directing traffic for two hours. I didn’t count, but that was 30-40 sets of eyeballs that cruised through the listing that hadn’t seen it before, and may not have ever seen it had I not hosted.
This post is probably going to piss some of my REALTOR friends off and it may excite others, depending on their perspective. That said, you just never know what might happen, and as the old saying goes, “it only takes one!”
Further, there is a reason many builders demand an on-site agent at their model home.
Big Shout Out, & Thank You to my seller for allowing me to be there!
I hope to see you at the next one!
Franklin Jones
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