Open House, to Have or not to Have, is that the Question?

Should I Have an Open House

Here’s an article I found interesting, “7 Open House Myths” by Bill Gassett. It was an informative read about some important facts to consider about open houses, so I wanted to share it with folks that visit my site. Bill’s article shares some of my thoughts regarding open houses. Although, as a broker, it may not be a popular idea to suggestion to clients that avoiding an open house may be best. After all, seller clients see homes sell like hot cakes at open houses and broker opens on cable real estate shows, right? Unfortunately these staged situations on TV are usually not reality and do not disclose some of the negative aspects of an open house.

Mentors in my early days of real estate suggested having open houses as a lead generation tool for myself. After all, if potential buyers aren’t interested in my client’s home they may be interested in another listing I have or better yet, you pick up one of the neighbors who’s ready to sell. Is it ok for me to generate new busines from my client’s cleaning and staging their home and staying gone half the day on their weekend off?  I never felt comfortable prospecting for new businesss off my client’s properties, so after becoming a broker I rarely suggested having open houses. Of course many clients request open houses and I have open houses to accommodate their request. But from a seller’s standpoint, how would you feel about your home and inconveniences being used to create new business for your listing broker? Even if a client is okay with their listing broker collecting leads off their property, there may be other reasons a seller may not want to hold an open house.

The author, Bill Gassett, is an extremely successful agent in Massachusetts. I personally have sold my fair share of properties the same day, the same week and the same month just like other successful agents and I would put my tract record up against anyone. As far as my sales go due directly or indirectly to an open house, I’m currently at a lifetime average of zero.

Real, qualified buyers are not sitting around waiting for you to have an open house. Buyers that are in the market for a home go see houses they find and like. Buyers don’t say “lets wait to see if they have an open house before we look at it”. I also believe if you happen to sell a home during an open house it would have likely sold to that same buyer anyway. Let me be clear, I will hold open houses if my clients want them. I’m not likely to suggest them.

I’m not personally a believer in the effectiveness of open houses, yet here I am, a very successful real estate broker and we sell our client’s properties as quick and efficently as anyone. 7 Open House Myths is a great read about the truth in my opinion!

Here’s another informative article by Bill Gassett regarding open houses:

Why Do Real Estate Agents Hold Open Houses?