In one word, yes! When selling your house offering an open house, especially at the beginning of having the property listed, can be extremely helpful if it is done right. This requires some hustle on the agents part. An open house isn't just sticking a sign in the yard for three hours on a Sunday and praying someone shows up. There are several steps to holding the right open house.
Done right, an open house will drive traffic to your home, and traffic means a higher likelihood of getting an offer. Our open house strategy has many steps, most of which are not done on the day of the open house. They include:
* Preparing an ad for social media, usually a video promotion
* Inviting people we know by email and phone who are looking specifically for a house like this one
* Knocking on neighbor's doors telling them about the open house
* Calling, texting, and emailing neighbors in the area to spread the word about the open house
* Post in MLS, which feed to sites like Realtor and Zillow
* Post an ad on Craigslist
* Put up at least eight signs going into the neighborhood from the main, busy road and then use directional signs to lead people to the home
* Follow up with attendees and neighbors after the open house
If you have read anything about open houses, people say that open houses are only for the agent. While this can be true, it is a great way for agents to meet potential buyers and sellers, it can be great for the home owner, too. For the home owner, the goal is to get as many eyeballs as possible on your house so that the right buyer comes along and snatches it up. In the world of marketing, that means saying the same thing different ways to reach the buyer. This means communicating via social media, online, email, phone, text, and face-to-face. This also means telling people that a house is for sale multiple ways like the actual listing and open house. An open house done right can be an excellent catalyst to selling your house.