If you’re a seller or a real estate agent, this thought probably crossed your mind already: should I hold an open house? Open house is a classic and traditional way of selling a property. It satiates the need for the seller to do something and to just not simply wait for a call from an interested buyer. It’s also a great way for a buyer to see the property personally. Open houses are interactive, social, and results oriented.
But just like any other method it has its own pros and cons. Open houses do not always work as smoothly as one would want it to be. To help sellers and agents to decide whether or not open houses is the way to go, we collected this method’s advantages and drawbacks.
THE BENEFITS
1. The property is the star
The best thing about open houses is that it gives sole focus in your home. Potential buyers have the opportunity to truly see the house and ask the questions that they have. This is the time for sellers and agents to charm the buyers into buying the house.
2. Saves time
Having an open house means that you get to save time. You can get the phone numbers of all potential numbers in one day and maybe guarantee a sale right away. The seller also has the chance to know whether or not a buyer will buy the property.
3. Surprise buyers
Open houses are also an opportunity to attract surprise buyers a.k.a. those who are not really looking for a house. It’s because open houses allow everyone to participate and to take a look at the property that you are selling. Who knows? Maybe a passerby who’s just there to see what’s going on will love the property so much, they will buy it right away.
4. No pressure
Open houses also let the buyers take a look at the property at their own pace at their own time. This way the agents are actually letting the buyers take in on the whole property before they make a sound decision.
THE DRAWBACKS
1. Attract lookers
There are times when open houses get crowded because of the arrival of neighbors or lookers who have no plans on buying. They are just there to make gossip or to eat the free food that you offer, and not to help you generate any sale.
2. Security issues
In some instances, open houses are used for burglars and criminals to inspect the house better and to make a way to take something from it, especially if it’s going to be vacant at night. Letting unknown visitors or onlookers can result into getting the house dirty or getting some of the features damaged.
3. Slim chance of a sale
The truth is that there’s only a 2 to 3 percent chance for an agent or a seller to make a sale using an open house. Open houses are just truly great if the agent wants to increase his leads and make new connections.
4. It’s an old method
Open house may be a classic but it’s old. There are new ways in which one can sell a house like using a property portal or selling it through Facebook. Marketing strategies evolve and sticking to this old boy may cause you a small amount of sales.
Holding an open house is actually not a bad thing, but if you really want to connect to more people in a faster way, then maybe you should take a look on evolving your game. Real estate, after all, is never constant.