What do you think the chances are of your home selling at an open house?
Probably not great. At least not here in the Iowa City area. (I represent sellers in the Iowa City real estate market and can only speak for my area of course). Selling a home is all about getting the right buyer in the right home at the right time. Seems to me the stars need to be aligned just right for all of that to happen on a day that you and your agent choose!
Does that mean if you have a home on the market you shouldn't bother with open houses? That depends. Can you expect a lot of buyer traffic? Will it mess up your day completely if you have to vacate the property for two hours on a Sunday afternoon? Those are the things you should look at. (Not necessarily in that order).
Now what does buyer traffic have to do with anything you ask yourself? Well, we're assuming THE buyer is unlikely to come through your home on a random day this month, but the more people that do come through, the better the chance is that word gets out that your house is for sale. The whole idea of marketing your home is to make sure as many people as possible know it's for sale. Don't underestimate word of mouth. It's as good a tool as any in our marketing tool box. While I'm on the subject, have you told everyone you work with that your home is for sale? And the folks at church too?
Is holding an open house a good return for the effort? Maybe. Maybe not. That would depend on how much of an effort it is for you. Your agent is usually happy to hold open houses for you. The question becomes is it a major inconvenience to you to vacate your home for the afternoon? If the answer to that question is yes, don't do it. You work hard. You earned your weekend, so enjoy it. If you on the other hand are out and about anyway, because you have multiple activities outside the home, then go for it. What have you got to lose?
So who really benefits from open houses anyway? The easy answer is that buyers just love to browse homes - Especially in spring time after a long cold winter! (Hence the timing of this post). Comparing homes and "seeing what's out there" is the favorite response when I ask visitors to my open houses. We Realtors also benefit from open houses. Even if a buyer doesn't buy your home they may work with us to buy a different home. It doesn't come up all that often, but it does come up.
Ultimately Open Houses are very hit and miss for everyone involved - Buyers, Sellers and Realtors. Will you sell your home at an open house? Probably not. Will it still be worth it? Maybe...
If you're thinking of listing your home in the Iowa City area, give me a call. I'd love to show you what I do to market your home to get it sold.
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Denise, good post. We have been relatively lucky with open houses. Have had a few sell because of them. I love it when we have an open and the buyer comes in and just lights up and says this is it before they even see the whole house. Like you said it is a numbers game for getting the one who is going to buy to come through and opens can help with increasing the numbers. ----Gloria