If you’ve decided to sell your house, you’ve likely begun the process of cleaning, purging, and staging your home for sale. At some point, you’re probably going to think about whether you want to hold an open house to increase visibility to your home and draw in more prospective buyers. Here are just a few benefits to holding an open house:
1. Still a Relevant Source For Home Buyers
As of 2013 REALTOR.com surveyed 45% of home buyers use an open house event as a source of information in their home search. These potential buyers may or may not be working with a real agent in their own buying process.
2. Show Ready
If it is just you who lives at the house this is pretty easy to accomplish, for those who have pets, kids, and other hazards as it takes time to make your house show ready. The point to take from here is that it is easy to know when the house needs to be ready for a particular afternoon, rather than a last minute private viewing.
3. Unexpected Interest
You might attract buyers who weren’t actively looking or who don’t have an agent aiding in their home search if they can casually visit an open house rather than having to make an appointment. Having a strong agent on your side could help you turn a stranger into a sale.
4. Learning Opportunity
An open house event is important to you and your agent because of the feedback you will receive from those who visit. The agent can gather information on your asking price, maybe it is too high. Other potential buyers could also mention some repairs that need taken care of, which will help make the house more appealing. The goal is to take the feedback from your event if there are no “serious buyers” afterwards; and use that feedback to adjust the sale of your house.
If you’re an active buyer or thinking about buying check our “Don’t Buy Real Estate in The Dark” blog article
The debate on whether open houses are relevant to finding a potential buyer all determines on how you promote it, show it to potential buyers, and having good relationships with those who are interested. It takes an experienced agent to know what people are looking for and make sure they are answering those needs.