The truth about open housesI'm not going to make you wait until the end of this for the answer. Here's the truth about open houses: they rarely bring you a buyer.
Yeah, that's the truth. Most open houses do not attract NOW buyers; instead, they attract potential future buyers and the occasional nosy neighbor. I can say this with some authority because I have hosted several open houses where no one shows up to where several people show up; not a one has ever even been CLOSE to submitting an offer. And don't just take my word for it: the National Association of Realtors supports this with their research, which you can find here. With that being said: if you need to sell your house, you may not to feel like you're leaving any stone unturned. While you have statistically a 7% of chance of finding a buyer for your house with an open house, that is still 7%. To be honest, 7% seems high to me -- but nonetheless, you never really know where the buyer for your home may come from. You may be wondering, "Phillip, are there any benefits to an open house?" The answer would be it depends on your perspective. Some folks never want an open house due to security concerns -- anyone can just swing by. Others want to get some feedback, especially if they have not had many showings. The feedback you will receive may provide useful or useless -- again, these the NAR says 93% are not going to buy your house. An open house seems like it benefits the overall market, and perhaps your neighbor down the street who needs to sell 6 months from now, more than it does you. Many open house attendees are just getting their feet wet and discovering neighborhoods. Some even use open houses as an opportunity to explore different floor plans -- they have no intention on buying your home. My Philosophy Right now, I probably sound a little crazy. Seemingly discouraging you from hosting an open house is counter-intuitive to selling the house, right? No. Some agents actually see it as sign as desperation. The vast majority of serious buyers have agents and are actively doing private showings with their agents, plain and simple. I do not push open houses and do not actively incorporate them into our sales system because it costs too much, and I would have to pass that cost down to you. I can only keep an efficient sales system selling homes for a flat fee if I eliminate certain (mostly) non-productive activities for the seller, such as open houses. With all of that being said: I still offer an open house as an option, because there is a 7% chance it will bring a buyer. For supplemental reading, here's a similar conclusion from The Balance. |
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