Why real estate agents hold open houses
When I first started the business, I sat at an open house literally seven days a week for most of the first year. Why? Because in 1991 (when I started) there was no internet. Hell, most people didn't even have a PC. Open houses were a way to promote a home and get the public to tour it.
I knew I would meet many buyers looking for a home, so as a real estate agent it was a double advantage for me. I could try to sell the house and I could meet buyers who might buy another house.
Over the years I have developed a measurement system that gave me analytical feedback on the effectiveness of open houses. I found early on that less than 1% of the buyers who came to an open house would even bid on that home. When I compared my results to those of other highly productive US real estate professionals, they found similar results.
Open days were therefore not an issueeffective way to market real estateRather, they were simply a way of meeting buyers who could then be helped to purchase another home. It almost seems disingenuous to tell a home seller that open houses are part of the marketing plan. If you think about it, it's more of a plan to find buyers for someone else's house. As long as the seller understands that inviting strangers into the home unaccompanied is just a favor to help the agent sell someone else's home, I have no problem with open houses.
However, there is one exception. I personally feel that all great home builders should have a show home that is open to traffic and manned on the busier days of the year. It gives a potential buyer the opportunity to view the goods and ask questions about the options that the contractor can or will offer.
How to get buyers to come and see your home
I hate to tell you, but there's a smarter way to get potential buyers to come and view your home. You have to put it online and list it with an agent who spends big bucks promoting properties on social media, websites, YouTube, etc.
If your house at theList of open days, you will be lucky if a dozen or more people come to see it. But if you have the right omnichannel marketing plan in place (like the one we use at Joe Manausa Real Estate), you'll have hundreds of people viewing the home every day.
We held one onceFacebook Live open house, and it generated about 50 visitors in-house (offline), but it was seen by thousands on Facebook. We enjoyed the experiment, but realized that today's shopper is a digital shopper, and we knew we needed to deliver the "in-house" experience "online." The event was well received but it was our digital marketing plan that attracted the buyer.
How to Attract Buyers to Your Home (Online)
Less than 1% chance of selling a houseReal estate agents continue to hold open houses, but they really need to put their time and energy into more effective methods.
There are some great ways to get buyers to tour the inside of your home without having to leave the comfort of their current home. One or all of these methods should be considered when selling.
We like to tell sellers we have an open house 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and only let them clean the house once to prepare! Here are some of the best practices we use:
- Professional photography- I'm always shocked when ILook at bad pictures advertising a home online. There is simply too much at stake for home sellers to allow anything less than professional photography.
We hire a professional photographer to ensure the home makes the best first impression, as buyers first view a home online to decide whether or not to view it in person. Unless the images scream "great value for money," many potential buyers might be put off.
Remember that as a home seller you are not looking for "one" buyer but for "multiple" buyers so that your value can be bid up to the highest possible amount.
- Virtual 3D tours- There are many different "walks" that agents use to advertise a home, but buyers have told me they prefer the ones that allow them to walk around the home on their own. Some agents create a slideshow of still images combined with music and some basic effects and call it a virtual tour.
But the prospective buyer already has the pictures online of what he wants for the move through the apartment. To achieve this effect, we use two special cameras. One of these is for our promoted ads on Zillow while the other can be used across the web like the one shown below:
- Youtube Videos- YouTube is an excellent channel for home video marketing. But there's a big secret that most agents overlook.
When marketing a video of a home, the production of the video is important as it helps highlight the features of the home that may not be as obvious on pictures. Most agents understand this, and those who produce videos for YouTube often do a good job.
But more important than the production of the video is theFINANCIAL SUPPORTof the video. This requires the agent to do thisSPEND MONEY, don't just post the video on Youtube! Think about it. Even if the video deserves an Oscar if no one sees it, then that's itGOOD MARKETING?
When I scour the internet to find the few local real estate agents who produce videos of their homes, I am always amazed that no one is watching them! The average number of views is often below 100 (did they only get immediate family members to watch the video?). A well-funded and well-marketed video promoting a home for sale in Tallahassee should have several thousand views unless it's only a few hours or days old.
An easy way to find out who is the best video marketer in your area is to visit YouTube and search "Tallahassee Real Estate" or any other market you are based in. View the results and see who has the most views. If someone has an older video with less than a thousand views, it hasn't been promoted! An unseen video probably isn't going to sell a house, is it?
Open houses versus marketing a house for sale
A lot of times I see agents holding open houses because they don't know what else to do. You have to ask yourself: if an agent works hard and studies the industry reports to be well informed, why would they host open houses?
Could it be that they don't know what to do? Or maybe they want to use your home to attract buyers for other homes. Perhaps they are new to the area and want to use your home to make new friends and possibly clients.
No matter the reason: if you hire a real estate agent to sell your house, for example, this is an open house. If you're asking with a simple, vague question like "Will you host an open house for my home?" beware of someone who says "yes" just because they think they are , what you want.
Hire the best local real estate agent who will use an omnichannel marketing plan to quickly attract multiple buyers to your home. Remember it isthe house that will be sold quicklythat is usually sold for the highest price!
Lokal in Tallahassee
Was our February 2020 report on the Tallahassee Open House insightful? Have more questions about the Tallahassee real estate market? If yes, you can leave a comment below,Call us at(850) 366-8917, orWrite us a messageand we will provide you with the local information you need for a successful and smooth transaction.
As a Tallahassee born and raised local with a focus on customer service, I promise you will have great success working with Joe Manausa Real Estate, just like our previous clients. You can see thousands of their reviews reported on Google, Facebook, and Zillow here:Tallahassee real estate agent reviews.
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