What Kind Of Response Should I Expect From My Open House?
Homeowners who have had a lack of interest in the house they’ve put up for sale often turn to an open house to spark some interest. In Michigan alone, the number of open houses on any given Sunday (the most common day to hold an open house) runs in the thousands, with hundreds in the Detroit area alone.
The response a homeowner gets from an open house has a lot to do with how far and wide the event is broadcast. However, homeowners need to keep those expectations in check as very few open houses actually lead directly to a sale. However, open houses represent a wonderful networking opportunity for your agent (and the buyer’s agents that attend) to get to know each other.While the odds of a direct sale from an open house are rather low, the connections established during the open house can often lead to an indirect sale.
Even though it’s a long-shot for an open house to lead directly to a sale, there still are benefits to having an open house that certainly make the effort worthwhile. Some of those benefits include:
Increased exposure to other agents.
Even if the clients attending your open house don’t ultimately choose to make an offer on your home, they likely attended with their own agent. In larger cities like Detroit, it’s unlikely that a buyer’s agent knows much about your home until your open house. The agent(s) that attend your open house might take what they learned during your open house and combine it with a property search in Michigan to get a clearer picture about your listing. Those agents ALL have other clients, one of which might ultimately make an offer.
Also noteworthy—some open house attendees may just be browsing or perhaps it’s a neighbor interested in seeing your property (or both). An open house allows them to see and possibly recommend your home to friends or relatives that might be more serious about buying a home. This word-of-mouth advertising can be quite effective.
Inspires repairs and cleaning.
Conducting an open house might just be the tonic you need to update your curb appeal, clean and declutter the house as well as making some simple repairs to things that need it. Even if the open house doesn’t lead directly to a sale, the long-term effects of preparing for an open house will pay dividends in the future.
Feedback from attendees.
Perhaps the most important response a seller receives from an open house is feedback from potential buyers—the good, the bad and the ugly. A property being regularly shown to prospective buyers likely won’t require an open house—a house that’s struggling to generate interest will, though. Even if the open house didn’t lead directly to a sale, detailed feedback from the attendees often provides the information necessary to make the important changes to the house for future prospective clients.
In short, sellers should keep their open house expectations low. While an open house may, happily, lead directly to a sale, the exposure that comes from an open house is invaluable and often goes a long way towards ultimately changing “For Sale” to “SOLD”.
