Do Open Houses Sell Homes?
Open houses have been a long-standing marketing tool for selling homes. However, with many homeowners opting for private home showings or virtual home tours, one question remains among real estate goers’ minds: Do open houses sell homes?
By working with the experts at Mark Spain Real Estate, you can gain the industry intel needed to make informed decisions on showing your home. Whether you opt for a private home showing, open house, or virtual tour, our team can help set your listing up for success. For sellers considering hosting an open house to sell their homes, this blog is for you. Read below to learn more about how open houses are used to sell homes.
Do Open Houses Sell Homes?
How Do Open Houses Work?
An open house is an opportunity for prospective home buyers to tour a home for sale. Typically hosted by the seller’s agent, open houses allow buyers from all over to freely walk through a property without needing a designated invite or appointment. Open houses are usually held on the weekends in the late morning or afternoon and last a few hours. 
As for their attendee pools, open houses welcome anyone and everyone. Whether you’re an interested buyer, a seller looking for neighborhood comparables, or even someone passing by, you can walk into any open house regardless of your motive.
What are the Benefits of an Open House?
Open houses can be an effective way to showcase your listing. Though there’s no way to measure how open houses directly correlate to sales, there’s no harm in hosting one to grow your listing’s exposure. Read below for some pros of hosting an open house for your listing.
Increased Public Awareness
Open houses are a great marketing tool to grow public awareness. Between you advertising your open house online and through word of mouth and your real estate agent promoting it throughout their network, an open house can significantly increase your listing’s exposure.
Flexible Scheduling
One of the beauties of open houses is they don’t require any advanced appointments. With traditional home showings, buyers set up a specific time to view a property with the seller’s agent, which can sometimes lead to scheduling conflicts between the seller, their agent, and their prospective buyer. Open houses are held for a few hours one a specific day, allowing buyers to walk in as they please with no scheduling stress.
Valuable Networking Opportunities
An open house is an excellent place for real estate agents to network with other industry professionals and prospective clients. And many times, these crucial informal meet and greets lead to successful sales. When hosting an open house, you might have a prospective buyer come in who doesn’t even have an agent. However, they could connect with an agent at the open house and get an offer in the works shortly after.
What are the Drawbacks of an Open House?
While open houses offer benefits, they also come with some drawbacks compared to private home showings. Below we’ve compiled a list of some of the most significant drawbacks of hosting an open house to sell your home.
Viewers might not be Serious Buyers
The most significant issue with open houses is the uncertainty of attendees’ motives. Because anyone can attend an open house, not all visitors will likely be serious buyers. In contrast, private home showings tend to have a better success rate with buyer pools. Typically, showings will attract more serious buyers who are genuinely invested in the listing.
Hectic Environment
An open house is usually not a very intimate viewing experience for buyers. With no cap on attendance, some open houses can have dozens of buyers touring simultaneously, creating a hectic and distracting environment. For most buyers, it’s hard to fully envision themselves in a space filled with noise and other people. For this reason, many buyers might opt for a private home showing to have a more intimate, in-depth touring experience.
Safety Concerns
Many sellers might not consider safety when holding an open house. Opening your home to the general public can sometimes be scary, as you risk potential theft or break-in. With this in mind, remove any valuables from your home before welcoming visitors and stay present and observant during the open houses.
Sell a Home with Mark Spain Real Estate
Are you considering holding an open house? The industry professionals at Mark Spain Real Estate are here to help you every step of the way. Delivering unparalleled customer satisfaction, our team of expert listing consultants promises a seamless and stress-free selling experience! If you want to skip the showings and open houses altogether, check out our Guaranteed Offer Program! You could receive a competitive cash offer on your home in only 21 days! Contact our agents today!
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