Do Open Houses Sell?

The short answer is: Not really.

Why do some agents hold them every weekend, you ask? A few reasons: 1) It’s tradition, 2) They might bring a qualified buyer in, and 3) Brand visibility and recognition for the agent.

Today, most sellers feel like they are obligated to have an open house. It’s just what you do. Unfortunately, following the open house tradition usually wastes time. You are forced out of your home for half of your Saturday or Sunday and will likely see nothing come of it.

One of the main reasons real estate agents push open houses is marketing. Open houses are a great way to get recognition as an agent, or a brand. Week after week that agent’s signs line the main drag in the neighborhood people start to remember them. And maybe they still will when the time comes to list their home.

Another thing open houses do is bring in traffic, and sometimes, quite a bit. The irony is, they rarely attract the right crowd (serious buyers). Nosey neighbors. Dreamers who hope to buy a house someday. People who are after those free snacks. They love to ‘see what you’ve done to the place’ or see how you opened up that ‘oh, so lovely’ floor plan from the 70’s. To them, your house is more entertainment than a possible investment.

Here are the facts: Roughly 75% of all home buyers shop online for their home, making the Internet the very best place to market a home. 36% of homebuyers actually end up buying the home they found online, making the Internet the very best place to sell a home. Our world is different today. 20 years ago people had a printed book to look through for homes that were listed. Today, buyers are up at 3:00am on Realtor.com looking for their first, next, or last home. The question is then, what will an open house do that the Internet can’t? I’d be willing to bet that any buyer who walked in your home on a Saturday afternoon at a open house that was a serious buyer, would have still made the effort to see it - with or without an open house. According to the National Association of Realtors, less than 2% of buyers come from an open house.

It’s because of that excruciatingly low number, that we put the full force of our marketing efforts into the online venue rather than camping at your house weekend after weekend.

But what about that 2%? Well, the truth is, we actually do see some value in open houses in particular situations. If the home has an amazing ‘wow’ factor, or if it is the kind of home that inspires that ‘Sunday afternoon buyer’ to sign on the dotted line. We take it one home at a time, making sure we’ve done all that we can to bring the right buyer in. Open house, or no open house.