You’ve probably heard a lot about open houses. If you’re preparing to sell your home, you may even wonder if agents recommend open houses. We’ll cover the topic of open houses and whether they are worth your time and effort.
Who Do Open Houses Benefit?
This is a tricky question, but if we were to sum it up briefly, open houses benefit the agent most of all.
If you’re a seller, you might think that your Realtor is holding your house open to sell it. In reality, though, many times Realtors aren’t holding an open house to advertise your home so much as they are promoting themselves. They view open houses as opportunities to attract new leads as they visit your home since Realtors do not already represent many of them.
This is really the main reason why agents hold open houses. Of course, open houses never hurt, homes have been sold at these events, it’s just not common. Some agents swear by open houses and say that most of their business comes from an open house – but in our experience, this hasn’t been the case.
What Sellers REALLY Need To Know About Open Houses
The biggest problems with open houses are security and theft. Open houses provide an easy target since thieves realize that Realtors are often distracted with visitors. Here is a brief list of some ways you can protect yourself if you proceed with an open house:
- Hide all pharmaceuticals; this goes for prescription drugs and over the counter medication.
- Depersonalize the house – take down family photos, especially of children
- Hide or remove anything that is precious or has personal value
- Remove firearms from the home, or make sure they are securely locked in a gun safe – if you remove the firearms, find a trusted friend to hold them
Make sure that your home is safe for strangers to go looking around because they will. While we would all hope that visitors would be mindful of privacy, they may want to see the depth of a pantry or the size of the garage. Part of the fun of looking at a home is opening doors, cabinets, and closets – be sure that nothing falls out when they’re opened.
Even though there are cautionary downsides to hosting open houses, it’s equally important to mention the pros.
Reasons to Host Open Houses
To this point, we’ve covered the reasons that open houses may be a waste of time. If planned properly, security threats may be avoided. And, there are a couple of good reasons to open your home to potential buyers.
For one, the home does get extra exposure to potential buyers. When marketed properly, an experienced Realtor will attract qualified buyers with genuine interest in your home. She’ll also encourage visitors to leave their contact information, and will provide them with as much enticing information about the home and neighborhood as possible.
Second, you might reduce the expense and hassle of cleaning and staging by showing a few times during open houses. This only works if your Realtor can generate lots of foot traffic during open houses, rather than having buyers walk through at individual showing appointments. Talk to your Realtor about the possibilities.
Do Agents Recommend Open Houses?
All told, open houses can be beneficial, but only in particular circumstances. Realtors and sellers should be confident that they’ll attract a lot of foot traffic because of low inventory (few homes available in a popular neighborhood or at a certain price point, for example). Sellers should also take steps to secure the property against theft.
If agents plan on hosting an open house, they must plan to be safe, secure, and look out for themselves, their visitors, and their sellers.
Agents should provide their sellers with the right information and do their best to make sure that the open house is productive and worthwhile. Do you have questions about listing your home for sale? Call one of our experienced Arizona Realtors today at 480-270-5355.