Should Your Real Estate Agent Hold an Open House?
Open House Blog Revised February 2018
The JS Realty Team @ Samson Properties believes that an Open House can add value when helping our clients sell their home. Our goal is to sell the home for top dollar in the shortest amount of time possible. From increased traffic to providing additional feedback, Open Houses are an integral part of our marketing plan.
MORE TRAFFIC = MORE POTENTIAL BUYERS
Open houses bring people through your front door. Yes, some of those visitors will be people “just looking”, who have no intention of buying a home at the moment. However, they have friends, relatives, and co-workers that they might mention the home to. Open Houses also attract Buyers that are just starting out on their home search. A lot of new buyers like to get a feel for the area and what type of home they can afford by attending an Open House. A National Association of Realtors study revealed that 45% of home buyers used Open Houses as a source for information. Your open house may even convert one of those people who are “just looking” into an urgent Buyer if they really like what they see. The fact is – the more people that come through your home, the better chance you have to sell it.
FEEDBACK
Open Houses provide great feedback to the listing Agent and the Seller. Whether it’s a neighbor or a potential Buyer, an experienced Agent is going to try to get as much feedback about the home as possible from the visitors. The kitchen may be updated but the bathrooms are smaller than the house a few doors down. Your yard is landscaped and well cared for, but the house across the street hasn’t seen a mower all season. Maybe last month 3 new families moved in, all with young children. This is the kind of additional feedback on the home and neighborhood that could possibly be helpful to the listing Agent and Seller. This is a great way to gauge the markets response to a home for sale.
SEEING IS BELIEVING
There is a segment of the population that likes doing things “the old fashioned way.” They go out on Sundays and check out the homes in neighborhoods they are interested in. Believe it or not, not everyone wants to see a home exclusively online. Some people actually want to get out and see it for themselves, on their own. Pictures and virtual tours can only tell you so much. Viewing space, layouts, and getting an overall “feel” for the home is an important part of the buying process.
LIVING IN A SHOWROOM
Having your home on the market and keeping it ready for showings is not easy. You can possibly reduce the number of individual showings by holding an Open House. Your potential buyer might visit your home and therefore not need to schedule a private showing. This will mean one less appointment you would have to get ready for!
MARKETING TOOL
Holding an Open House can also be used successfully as a marketing tool. In today’s fast paced market Sellers need to use every tool available to them to get the best possible price for their home. And Open Houses are definitely one of the best tools at your disposal!
If you’re looking to buy or sell a home, Scott Koval and the JS Realty Team can help you find the best solution to your real estate needs! Contact Scott online or by calling 703-625-3446.
potentially help our clients. The Digital Summit brought in speakers from some of the top corporations around the world, such as Forbes, Coca Cola, National Geographic, and many others to discuss a wide range of topics. This conference was attended by the world’s leading brands from CBS and CNN to IBM, and of course The JS Realty Team@ Samson Properties!
She had a good grasp on what needed to be done and we were able to give her some additional ideas that we know will help the home show its best.
At this point, Anne was very pleased with our advice and marketing plan, so we moved on to explain the “Exclusive Right to List” listing agreement. This contract between the JS Realty Team and the seller gives us the right to sell their home and represent them. The very next day, Anne signed on with us and became a client of The JS Realty Team @ Samson Properties.
Once the home was ready, we brought in our professional photographer to take still shots and a moving Virtual Tour of the home and neighborhood amenities. When we received the images from the photographer, we set out to build the listing, web sites, take room measurements, film a YouTube video, and create brochures, then roll out our extensive social media campaign. And that’s just part of the many facets of our marketing program. We suggested that the home “go live” on the market on a Thursday evening, so when Realtors and buyers who were searching for homes in Anne’s neighborhood woke up Friday morning, our new listing would be live and complete for them to view.
Once the contract is ratified, our job turns to getting the 