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Health & Fitness

Reconsidering the Open House Marketing Strategy

Open Houses have traditionally been a popular way to view real estate. This approach is called into question with the increasingly abundant information on-line and the risks involved.


I ran across this video about an open house frenzy in California.  In Eastern Connecticut we cannot imagine 50 calls previous to the open house, 50 to 100 attendees and between 20 and 30 offers on a property, some sight unseen.  I guess if we had that kind of response we too would jump on the open house band wagon.

Speaking of open houses, in general I am not a fan. I see open houses in the
Mansfield & Tolland area occasionally but unfortunately I think it is
often to appease a seller who thinks that if their agent isn’t there on Sunday
with coffee and cookies they are not fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility
to market their home.

 At Home Selling Team we run a seasonal Sunday Tour of Homes based on what we have for inventory and how the market is
behaving. Essentially it is a 5-10 minute open house with the opportunity to
come back for a second look if the buyer has further interest.

Here is what I have observed in the local open house strategy:

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The home has typically been on the market for about 60 days and
has received few if any showings, no offers, even low ones, and few inquiries
in general.  99% of the time this is because the home is priced at a price
that the market simply will not bear – no open house can cure this
problem. 

Instead of giving the seller the bad news, “Your price is too
high,” the agent will acquiesce, buy some balloons and stick a sign in the
ground at the end of the driveway and wait for the neighbors, hostile
ex-spouses or other interested relatives to show up. These open house visitors
are usually indignant that they have to sign in for security purposes and feel
that they should be able to remain anonymous and roam free through the home
unfettered by the real estate agent. 

Find out what's happening in Tollandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Also worth noting is another trend where people attending an
open house are looking for unsecured prescription drugs, jewelry or money.
There also can be a siginficant risk for agents to be attacked at an open
house where you are effectively advertising a meet & greet in an
otherwise empy home. Not effective. Not safe.


If you are putting your home on the market and if an open house
really appeals to you, I suggest that you do your open house the first weekend
your home hits the market.  It is new- not old, it is fresh inventory – not stale, and it has just arrived in the email boxes of potential buyers that are subscribing to updates in your market area and price range.  An open house launch can also create a sense of urgency and may produce an offer very quickly. And if not, no matter, you still have 60 days until your next one.

 

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