To Open House or Not to Open House?
By Chris Petry
One of the most recognizable traditions of the real estate process, is the open house. Endlessly featured in movies and TV shows, so much so you’d be forgiven for thinking that’s the way every buyer experiences a home for the first time. Of course, that’s not really the case. According to NAR, only 4% of buyers reported that they discovered their home via open house. Or more specifically, after learning there was an open house via an open house sign.
I wanted to do a little math here to figure out roughly how many homes that equates to but numbers are pretty hard to decipher unless you mastered in Accounting or Statistics. Suffice to say, the number of homeowners who purchased their home after seeing it at an open house is a relatively small number of homeowners. Now, let’s go over why open houses are still important regardless of the reported starts.
There’s little pressure on prospective buyers- If people have to make appointments, there’s a 5-20% chance they won’t keep them, at least according to the National Institute of Health. I know what you’re thinking. “They’re talking about doctor’s visits!” Sure, but the mentality is the same. A set appointment creates expectation. In the post-COVID/work from home world in which we live, that’s just extra pressure on an increasingly-agoraphobic tech-addicted population.
According to this piece from Dealers United, a company focused on improving outcomes at automotive dealerships, there’s still a benefit to booking solid appointment times. As opposed to leaving it open ended. Asking someone to “pop in around noon” or “discuss something in a few days” means they are even LESS likely to make good on that appointment. If there’s a hard appointment, the social pressure it generates results in roughly 90% of appointments being kept. Hey, it’s not a perfect world and stuff happens. People can’t make 100% of all appointments. That’s why an open house is perfect. People can walk in or not. There’s no obligation.
Sellers might get feedback, positive or negative, that can be useful in selling their home- Having a wide cross-section of people walking through your home might seem nightmarish to the traditional introvert, like me, but it might be a good thing for home sellers. Prospective buyers will, often unprompted, provide real time feedback about what features of your home they appreciate and which ones they’re not so keen on. If there’s a lot of negative feedback about a particular detail of your home, and you have the ability or financial means to rectify it, it might be worth considering before future showings.
An open house is a good indicator that the home has value- No, I don’t mean monetary value. I mean, if prospective clients see that you’re comfortable enough to open up your home to a bunch of strangers who may or may not be serious about buying, they rightfully assume that your home is probably neat, organized, well-maintained and worth the time to tour. Of course, that bodes well for interest and future offers. Guess that means there is monetary value.
It's just good exposure for your home- There’s a whole new pool of people with eyes on your most-valued asset and that is not a bad thing. That alone can create more excitement for the listing. It’s yet another link in the extremely valuable marketing train that a REALTOR will have to engineer to maximize exposure for your home. Every piece works together, increasing the potential of luring a serious buyer.
It’s a great opportunity for a good old-fashioned Q&A- As a potential buyer, you can ask questions about the property that you may not have thought to ask otherwise. You’ll be able to see things in real time that might require clarification before making a potential offer. Open houses are great for that. The person talking to the agent in front of you might even be asking the same question so you don’t have to!
