Have you been wondering how you can host a successful open house and possibly convert a few leads into actual clients?
Traditionally, hosting an open house has always been a sure strategy to sell your home. While many realtors today doubt the effectiveness of hosting an open house, it may be the only strategy to get potential homebuyers through the door if the property owner isn’t flexible for private home tours during weekdays.
Today, I will share with you 5 tips for hosting a successful open house. The last one is especially effective. So, let’s look at 5 essential ways to host a successful open house.
There’s a current imbalance in supply and demand for homes since properties are spending fewer days on the market. We’re living in a seller’s market, meaning there are more buyers than property listings of houses for sale. Even in these situations, it would be detrimental to host an open house before preparing the property for it.
Potential homebuyers pay special attention to property details. If there are major flaws, don’t expect the buyers to ignore those issues. They’ll either opt out or make a lower offer than the home’s market value based on those flaws.
Talk to the property owner and ensure the home is ready for an open house. Some essential ways to help you prepare the home include:
Mowing the lawn
Fixing broken doors and windows
Repainting the front door
Cleaning and decluttering
Another important step in preparing the home for an open house is depersonalization. You don’t want to give potential homebuyers an idea that there’s a family currently living there. The key is to allow the buyers to picture themselves living in that space. You can’t achieve this with family pictures on the walls. Hire a professional house stager to make the home more attractive by highlighting its strengths.
Rope in the Neighbors
People aren’t just buying the property. They’re investing in the neighborhood as well. You can inform your neighbors about the open house, encourage them to pass by, view the house, and mingle with the rest of the community. You can encourage them to ask any questions pertaining to the property itself, its value, or general real estate queries.
Most neighbors want to peep into the property. It’s human nature and it isn’t a crime to want to do so. They would love an invite to come and take a look without feeling like they’re engaging in illegal activity.
However, why should you invite them when they already have their own homes?
Because they may know someone who’s looking for exactly what you’re selling. Remember, word of mouth in real estate is really important. It’s much easier to sell the house to someone who’s familiar with the neighborhood instead of a stranger.
Spread the Word
Since you want people to attend the open house, you must let them know about it. Top performing realtors maximize their networks to spread the word and have several people attend the open house.
We understand that not all realtors are well-connected, especially newbies. Luckily, there are a few other marketing strategies you can use to achieve this goal. If you’re an old-school guy, you can put up a large sign in front of the property and around places with traffic in the neighborhood. You can also pay for an advertisement slot in your local newspapers and magazines.
In this digital age, you can’t ignore the power of social media. Use your social media accounts to promote the open house on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Don’t forget to post on realtor groups and other real estate pages. If you can, hire a professional videographer to make high-quality videos for TikTok and Instagram reels.
Other online platforms you can consider include Craigslist and real estate listing sites, such as MLS, Zillow, realtor.com, and Trulia. Don’t forget to include the open house date on whatever platform you choose.
Remember, the more people you reach, the more you increase your buyer pool. Hosting an open house the first weekend a house is on sale generates a number of interested buyers. Don’t forget to implement these marketing strategies a week or so before the open house.
Do Your Homework
You want to be a resource for potential buyers attending the open house. This can only be possible by doing your homework beforehand. If you’re hosting the open house on Sunday, you need to start preparing on Wednesday.
How do you prepare?
Learn as much as you can about the property, neighborhood, and local housing market. You want to be in a position to answer questions such as:
How long has the home been for sale?
What’s the square footage in the garage?
What upgrades have been done on the home?
Does the property have any structural issues?
Is there a homeowners’ association (HOA)?
Ensure you answer these questions appropriately. Don’t panic if anyone asks a question you can’t answer convincingly. Simply jot down their contact information and promise to get back to them.
Another essential aspect of carrying out due diligence involves conducting a comprehensive comparative market analysis (CMA). Since you might end up hosting a few neighbors and residents from nearby, you want to be an authority in the local market. An in-depth CMA will help you understand the value of such properties, listings that have recently sold, and current listings in that area.
Real estate agents who go the extra mile are more likely to succeed in their careers. Set aside a day to tour a few listings comparable to yours within the neighborhood. Note at least three features that your property has which the comps don’t. It could be more square footage, an extra bedroom, or larger storage space. Put yourself in a position where you can quickly point out three features that make your listing unique.
Viewing other comparable properties is also important since you can suggest a few more properties to the potential buyers in case yours isn’t exactly what they want. Going the extra mile could make a difference and allow you to convert a lead into a buyer.
The more you conduct your due diligence, the higher your chances of hosting a successful open house.
Partner With Other Professionals
One of the most surprising lessons in your real estate career is finding out that you should view other real estate agents as collaborators, instead of competitors. If you’ve noticed a listing for sale in the same neighborhood, you can reach out to the listing agent, plan a collaborative open house, promote it, and host together.
The best thing about this strategy is that you can combine the numbers and tap into a larger pool of potential buyers. You can leverage both your networks, pool resources for marketing, and spread the staging fees to make it more affordable for you. Besides, neighbors become curious when there’s more than one open house in their neighborhood.
It would also be helpful to work with a lender or loan officer and have them present during the open house to answer any financing questions from potential buyers on the spot. The loan officer can provide pre-qualifications, payments, and interest rates on-site, which can fast-track the lending process and save you and the buyer time.
If you’re showcasing a large house, you can build a team so that you can have someone present on each floor to answer questions and discuss the property’s talking points. If it’s an apartment, have someone in the lobby to welcome the visitors and usher them upstairs where you’ll be waiting for them.
Don’t forget to share the key talking points with every professional on your team so that the message stays consistent.
As you can see, hosting an open house doesn’t have to be stressful. Initially, it might seem like a huge task, but you will get used to it with time. Hosting a successful open house regularly can be the key to building a consistent flow of clients for your real estate business.
I became a realtor when I was 25, Right now I’m a digital marketing expert helping realtors, brokers and real estate agents generate more leads online.
