So, you’ve listed your home and your agent says, “I don’t do open houses”. Hmmmmmmm. What is that all about? Isn’t that part of selling houses? Yes! Absolutely!! Open houses are always a great source of business for me. Not only do I pick up potential buyers and sellers at open houses, the home that is being held open gets amazing exposure. How is that possible if only 2 or 3 groups of people walk through the house? That is simple. By, “word of mouth advertising”. Let’s say 4 groups of people walk through the open house. Those casual lookers mention the property to 3 of their friends. Now 12 people know about the property. Those people may casually mention your property to someone else. Do you see where I am going with this? Without that open house, no one had any firsthand knowledge about the property.
Many times the buyers walking through your open house will already be working with another agent. That is great!! We know these people are serious buyers. Most likely their home is already on the market with their agent. Finding the home of their dreams may just encourage those buyer/sellers to lower their asking price so they can purchase your property. I routinely contact the agent that that particular buyer is working with. That agent needs to know that their client showed interest in my listing.
Pictures on the internet are great. But, if you ask me, we have to go back to the old-fashioned way of selling houses. Putting a buyer in a house is the very best way to get a home sold. There is a certain feeling that a person experiences when they walk into a house that could potentially be “their home”. It is impossible to expect photographs to convey that “certain something”.
People love to talk about houses! They love to look at houses. Let free “word of mouth advertising” work for you. Insist that your agent hold your property open at least once every 6 weeks. I do opens more frequently than that. There are always new buyers coming in to the market. Those buyers need to be able to physically walk through your home in order to get a good sense of the house. Holding open houses is a great way to get additional exposure for your house.
As always, feel free to contact me at fwallace@firstweber.com with any real estate questions.
