Do Open Houses Sell Homes?

Open houses are an effective method of exposure for your home. Do open houses directly sell homes? It depends… However, there are some serious benefits to hosting open houses, and this post is going to walk you thoroughly through how they work, who can go through open houses, the different kinds of open houses and how effective they are altogether.

What is an Open House?

Open houses are events hosted by your Real Estate Agent whereby the home will be open to the general public and community members for a selected window of time. Open houses run for 2 hours on average but times can differ depending on the demand, size and style of home. There are two different types of open houses:

Public Open House

A public open house is announced in advance, making the date and time known to the general public and interested parties. During this event, potential buyers, often accompanied by their real estate agents, are welcome to walk through the home, ask questions, and see if they like the property.

Brokerage Open House

A Brokerage Open House is an exclusive open house for brokers and broker owners to attend. This kind of open house is also called an agent open house, and it is a great chance for agents to market the home to other real estate professionals in the area, as well as obtain feedback on various components of the home, such as staging, size and price point.

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How to Prepare for an Open House as a Seller

To prepare for an open house, begin by surface cleaning the general areas, wiping down counters and ledges to ensure there are no signs of grime or dust. Then, move along to tidying the common spaces by vacuuming area rugs, fluffing pillows, putting away kids’ toys and removing any dishware from common areas.

In the laundry room, ensure the machines are empty and turned off, and any remaining laundry is folded and put away. Consider replacing the garbage with fresh bags. Consider lighting a candle or spraying a lightly scented room spray prior to the guest’s arrival. Then, turn on all lights, including lamps and feature lighting and ensure all curtains are open to showcase the windows.

Once all of this is complete, put away any remaining personal items such as shoes, purses and or jackets by the front door and then proceed to leave for the duration of the open house to allow buyers to walk through stress-free.

Who Can Attend An Open House?

The most common attendees of an open house are buyers in the area who are beginning/continuing to look at homes as they hit the market.

Second to that, you can expect to see other buyers who have yet to select an agent to work with.

Thirdly, you can expect to see other members of the community coming to see the home to explore how it differs from their property (particularly if they too, are planning to sell in the near future).

Why Open Houses Work

Open houses remain a fixture of the home listing process because they are effective. If they were entirely ineffective, they would be rarely utilized. Many clients, even within our own brokerage, have purchased homes after attending an open house or a viewing with their agent. Consider the open house as an opportunity for buyers to truly visualize the house as their potential future home.

How We Do Open Houses

At Capstone, we often host open houses at the majority of our listings, with the exception of condominiums, land and commercial properties. These open houses allow us to network with other agents and their buyers. They also generate interest and foot traffic towards your listing. While the common metaphor about Open Houses is they let the nosey neighbour in, the reality is… that neighbour may have friends or family who are looking to move closer to them.

Our recommendation to clients is hosting an open house the first weekend the home hits the market. This is when the listing is fresh and new in the eyes of buying agents and their clients. Getting them into the home is the best way for them to fall in love with the space.

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Other Home Selling Tactics

It is important to ensure that your agent/team you are working with is not just relying on the success of an open house to sell your property. There are so many key components to selling a home. Here are some of the responsibilities you can expect from your agent:

Professional 4K Media and Video: This has become a standard for the majority of real estate transactions and for a valid reason. The first impression your home makes is the photo that users see on realtor.ca. Ensure your agent is working with a reputable photographer/videography company so that your home makes a strong first impression.

Website Exposure: At Capstone, our website is visited by thousands of users on a monthly basis. We focus on website exploration through google search optimization and ongoing community events, blog posts and updates. Make sure your desired agent has an inviting/ cohesive website where they can feature your home to their audience.

Strong Social Media Presence: We recommend doing a background check on your agent to ensure that they are using social media, often, frequently, and well. Having an audience, brand identity and strong presence on social media is key to promoting the listing over time. In many cases, buyers are reaching out to us after seeing videos of the homes we have listed and inquiring about booking showings/ their interest in the home.

Internal Network: Finally, look at the brokerage your agent is a part of and understand their key values. A brokerage is an all-encompassing reflection of the team and the work they do: from training to support, communication and admin processing. Ensure your property is in good hands by offering to meet your agent in person, at their office for conversations.

In summary, Open Houses are an important factor when listing a home. They increase exposure, create community interest and encourage agents to bring their buyers to see the home in person.