What are the benefits of an Open House? Will having an Open House increase your odds of a fast sale at a high price? What are the costs of an open house? These are questions we at nearly every listing appointment we attend, and to be honest, the answer isn’t always yes, and it isn’t always no. Once you’ve decided to list your home and have found the best agent to represent your listing, it’s time to sit down and strategize. This will be one of the biggest transactions of your life and getting it right is the only option.
We’ve experienced almost every situation possible with clients and Open Houses. Some say absolutely not – never, not even if resulted in more money for their home. Some clients insist on not only one, but several open houses, and some clients aren’t partial either way. At the end of the day, each listing needs to be treated as its own unique project…because it is!
What Are the Benefits of an Open House?
The biggest benefit of an Open House is that it gets eyes on your home. Open houses tend to bring in potential buyers who would otherwise be too casual or unmotivated to book an official showing. They also draw in more visitors than a simple listing would. Neighbours who may drop in to nose around may end up mentioning your home to a friend or colleague who is looking. Word-of-mouth is the most powerful advertising tool available today so although those in attendance may not seem serious, they may know someone that is.
Do Open Houses Work?
An Open House can also work for you if you have a very busy family life and are looking to get your first week of showings into one or two days. If your listing is considered a highly-sought-after home, consider having an Open House on the day your home goes on the market. Work with your realtor to determine if they have enough connections to schedule a day of showings during the week while you’re away at work and the kids are off to school. Creating buzz around a listing day is a very good strategy to have in place, if your home warrants it. This could also be a good strategy if you are holding back offers and want to get as many people through the door as possible prior to offer date.
Can an Open House Hurt the Sale of My Home?
Do open houses sell homes? Thanks to the Internet, the days of hordes of people driving around from one open house to the next are over. Buyers and their agents do a lot of their research online, narrowing down their options before they even book a showing. There are a ton of websites and mobile apps that give buyers and agents a plethora of homes to search through. They can even be alerted when new homes go on the market, or if a house they are eyeing has a change in price or goes into contract. Many of today’s buyers already work with agents and if serious enough, will book a showing for a house they are interested in the moment it’s listed for sale, rather than waiting for an Open House.
Opening your home to strangers over the weekend can be a big hassle, so weighing the pros and cons of doing so is vital during the strategic process of your listing. Holding an Open House can easily end up falling flat, and that’s something each seller should be prepared for with average turnouts for open houses varying. You may get a lot of traffic but it’s true – sometimes that traffic is only your nosey neighbours wanting to tour your beautiful home that’s newly renovated. Lots of people who aren’t in the market go to open houses out of curiosity or to get ideas for their homes. And while it may be a fun way for them to pass the time, for you it’s a big waste of time.
Open Houses should be considered a single spoke in a wheel of marketing and advertising for your listing. If you think an Open House is necessary, speak with your Broker about past experiences, or recent ones held in your neighbourhood. There are a handful of situations where we feel an Open House can work, but most of the time in the busy Toronto Market, there are many other strategies to get buzz going for your listing, with results that make a greater impact on those serious buyers you want to attract.