Yes… I am talking about the waste of time that thousands of Realtors continue to participate in week after week on Sundays in Massachusetts….THE PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE.
Let me rephrase that…A waste of time for the seller of the home.
This will probably surprise you, but Nationally less than 1% of homes sell from a public open house!
Open houses offer little value to sellers, as serious buyers almost always schedule showings for properties they want to view.
In most cases, serious buyers are looking at homes with Realtors. So who goes to open houses, and why do Real Estate agents continue to do them?
There are numerous plausible reasons for both of these questions. 1st, let’s address who you can expect to show up.
Who Attends Open Houses in Massachusetts?
- Your neighbors – curiosity will be a driving force for many people on your street. You can also expect your nosy neighbor to be there to compare what you have in your home to theirs.
- The “professional” Sunday open home looker – these are the folks that just like looking at homes. Homes, after all, are interesting…they all have their own unique features. You can expect this person to swing in for a quick look after seeing a Real Estate sign outside the home.
- The Unqualified– This is one of the more common attendees of an open house. If you sell a home for $500,000, you expect the potential buyers walking through to be qualified to spend $500,000, right? WRONG…more often than not, the people walking through will be unable to pay the asking price. If there wasn’t an open house, would you want your Realtor to bring unqualified people inside your home?
- The “idea” person – this is someone that will walk through the open house to get “ideas” for their home. It could be any number of things such as decorating, furniture, a granite counter color whatever. The idea person will most likely show up at the more expensive homes where things are on a grander scale.
- The…