Is an open house worth the time and effort? If you listen to those commercials on the radio you might think not. Even your realtor might be telling you they are a waste of time. But are they? Let’s look at what most people say about an open house and you can decide for yourself.

Only the Neighbors Come

This is an over exaggeration. Although some of the people that come to an open house are neighbors, they are not all neighbors. Besides, having neighbors come by is a good thing as well! Hopefully they will give some insightful feedback. What did you like about the place? What did you NOT like about the place? What was your favorite feature? A good realtor will take this feedback and use it to market the house better. If enough people complain about the bright orange paint in the kitchen, it might be time to consider painting it a more neutral color. Besides the feedback the neighbors may give, if they fall in love with your place they may tell their co works, friends and family about it. Sometimes friends and family are looking to move closer to each other, especially if you live in a nice, sought after neighborhood. So don’t shame the neighbors, invite them!

But as mentioned, it is not just neighbors that come. A poll done by the National Association of Realtors found that 41% of buyers attending open houses. To put it another way, almost 1 out of every 2 people buying a house will go to view a home at an open house. That is how my wife and I found our first home many years ago. We had fun with it, driving around on a Sunday with a starbucks , the windows down and the radio up.

Many agents use the weekend to show homes to buyers as well. Having an open house makes it easy for them to include your house to this list.

An Open House Does Not Sell Houses

Again, this is an over exaggeration.  While you cannot expect a house to sell at an open house, it can happen. Very rarely does it happen, but it does happen. Besides, the whole point of an open house is not to sell your house on the spot. It is to show your house to as many people as possible so they can see and fall in love with it. Selling a house is all about getting it seen by as many people as you can, and that is what an open house does. Statistically speaking, 6% of homes are sold to buyers who went to open houses.

So if 40% of buyers went to open houses, but only 6% of houses sold to buyers who went to open houses, what does this difference in statistics show? That many houses do not hold open houses. But if 40% of buyers go to open houses, doesn’t this show an opportunity for your house to stand out from the others on the market?

An Open House is very inconvenient

Alright, I will give you this one but with a caveat. An open house may be slightly inconvenient, but so much less so than several showings throughout the week. I don’t know about you, but I would rather have several people viewing the property at once, then opening the doors to several different sales representatives and buyers throughout the week. Think of it as having to clean your house once for the open house, or cleaning your house several times. Maybe I am just a “rip the Band-aid off quickly” kind of guy.

Are Open Houses are a waste of time?

This is one you will have to decide on your own, but let’s consider a few things. As mentioned, a good agent will try to get as much feedback as possible from those that do visit. Knowing what viewers like and do not like allows the agent to focus their marketing efforts around each of these. Emphasis the good, remove the negative. 40% of buyers go to open houses but only 6% of houses are sold to those buyers who went to open houses. To me, this shows an opportunity to stand out against those that do not hold open houses. Having to leave your home for an open house may be inconvenient, but is less so that having showings several times throughout the week. The open house may not directly sell your house, but it will get it viewed by more people, and getting it seen will sell your house.

Please comment below with your thoughts about open houses and if you have any questions, please contact Ryan Ligeza.