Do Open Houses Work?
That’s what we’re talking
about today, let’s get started!
Hi, welcome back to my channel. I’m Kim Ward, real estate broker, in San Diego, California; and expert at helping people
sell homes in probate or a trust.
If you’re new here, welcome!
So, today I’m talking about… Do open houses work? Do they help to sell homes?
If you’ve thought about selling a house you may be curious if open houses really do sell homes, the answer might surprise you! At
the end of this I’ll be sharing a story about the $900,000 fixer house and the results from having a strategic marketing plan, and an open house.
First, let’s talk about statistics; according to the National Association of Realtors about 7% of homes are sold by open houses and yard signs combined. What that means is that someone driving past a home sees the yard sign, calls the number, and they want to take a look at the inside, and they actually will schedule an appointment, and perhaps purchase the home by looking at that yard sign that is a combined effort of an open house.
About 50% of buyers find their property by real estate agents. So, they’re smart, they’re working with a realtor who sends them properties from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). That realtor can then schedule with the listing agent to view the home with their buyer once the home
is available for viewing. This is where a strong strategy of planning ahead and then having an open house will help to get the home sold for the most money quickly.
The National Association of Realtors statistics around open houses say that 1% to 2% actually sell because of an open house and that’s
probably a pretty accurate number for certain areas of the country and particular markets.
A few weeks ago I was helping to sell a home in El Cajon California and I put together my strategic plan I held my open house and the buyer actually came through during the open house! They spent about 45 minutes looking at the home, so I knew that we were in pretty good shape that they were gonna be writing an offer. So, in that case the open house really did help to sell the house! Many real estate agents hold open houses to get future buyer or seller clients, and that’s a great strategy, but my open houses are strategic and are aimed at getting my sellers the highest price and the best terms quickly.
It all starts with preparation, whenever I first meet with a seller and we choose to work together I then go through the house with them and make what I call my “honey-do list” and that’s part of the preparation. It could include cost-effective repairs, for instance if the carpet really needs to be replaced then I would recommend spending the money to put in carpet. So, after all the cost-effective repairs are done then we talk about staging. If there happens to be items in the home that belonged to the seller I might use those items. If not, and many of my homes are
completely vacant, then I will do what I call soft-staging. I have many staging items that I bring into my clients homes, and it just softens
them up. Anywhere from curtains, to towels, to plants, pictures things like that.
The next thing we do is get professional photos, and then I write a well written description. I place the house on the market on Wednesday or Thursday. So, no one can come into the house, the first showings would happen on Saturday at 11 o’clock. That’s how I hold my open houses, Saturday between 11:00am and 1:00pm. What happens, time after time, is it creates an auction atmosphere. There are many people coming into the house, they’re seeing each other looking at things.
Going back to the house in El Cajon that I just recently helped to sell, that buyer offered full price, day one, which makes my client happy! And nothing makes me happier than to be at an open house, and the whole time I’m on my feet talking with people explaining things, answering questions, that type of thing. That’s what makes it really rewarding! Because, then I know my seller is going to get a great offer.
One final story about the home in Crown Point, the fixer home, the $900,000 home. So, what happened was I received offers, even before I put the house on the market! I had put up a coming soon sign, people want to buy in that area, I received offers. So, then I had to speak with my client about adjusting the price, because the offers were above the list price that we had determined was the right price for the house. I had already scheduled to have an open house on a Thursday between 4:00pm and 6:00pm. The reason for that was to allow investors to come into the house during that time. I had over 50 people come to the open house! Including the neighbor who was having a wine and cheese party in conjunction with my open house, and I received SEVEN offers and sold the property for WAY above list price!
So, do open houses work? YES, I believe they really do help my sellers to get what they want:
- highest price
- best terms
- sold quickly!
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, come back every Thursday for the next one!
