Are Open Houses Necessary?

You’ve decided to place your property on the market. You’ve staged your home, made appropriate renovations and are ready to invite potential buyers to come and take a look for themselves. But, do you really need an open house?

A recent blog article on Zillow.com discusses the pros of an open house.

“Listing agents often argue that in our digital world, open houses are a waste of time. The majority of people who attend are nosy neighbors, ‘looky-loos,’ or other types of tire-kickers. Instead, their argument goes, serious buyers today don’t want to wait for an open house. When someone likes a home’s online photos, he or she will make an appointment to see the property during the week. So is it time to close the book on open houses? Not at all.”

A generation ago open houses were a necessity. Without the Internet, it was really the only way for people to see a house. Now, homebuyers rely on the Internet to narrow down their search by looking at the information found in an online listing and especially the photos shown. They want to take a “sneak peek” before they take that physical step to actually go and view a house. But with that being said, “there’s only so much you can glean from that. By visiting a home, you can see how the online floor plan actually looks in the ‘real’ world. You can see details you’d probably miss looking at photos. You can get a feel for the property and compare your reactions to the home to others you’ve visited.”

In addition, serious buyers usually don’t happen overnight. Buyers today are well informed and often looking at a multitude of homes and properties online before even asking for the help of a qualified real estate agent. “Open houses give buyers a no-pressure environment in which to deepen their education about the local market, so they can make a more informed decision. A buyer may use an open house as a first showing of the property. But when buyers become serious about a home, an open house provides them another opportunity to spend time in the home, to get to know it better, without the confines of a 15-minute private appointment.”

On the other side of the equation, sellers often find open houses to be ideal. It allows them a convenience. “Rather than having to clean the home and vacate it 10 times during the week, a two-hour Sunday open house allows as many people as possible to take their time and view the home thoroughly.”

Open houses also give sellers and their agents an easy way to gauge the market’s response to your home. “A good listing agent will want to see as many buyers come through as possible to gauge their reactions to the home. Are people walking in and out quickly? Or are they hanging around? What questions are they asking? What are their biggest hang-ups or concerns? This is the kind of valuable information you can’t get online.”

Now that we’ve looked at the pros, what about the cons? An article on MSN.com discusses reasons why you might consider skipping the open house. “The proliferation of Internet listings and other online real estate information is quickly making open houses more of an option, rather than a requirement for selling a home.”

Many real estate agents believe that open houses really are a waste of time and have the numbers to back them up. “For the most part, Johnson, an agent with Dilbeck Realtors and a 25-year veteran of the real estate business, doesn’t hold open houses for her listings unless sellers press the issue. Most of her sales come from her contacts with other agents and from the multiple listing service, she says.”

In addition, many sellers are concerned about open houses for security reasons. “…worried about letting complete strangers roam freely through their house, with access to electronics, jewelry, prescription drugs and personal information. Others just don’t want their neighbors and a host of other so-called “looky-loos” wasting their time just for a look at their décor.”

So before saying yes or no to an open house, really consider the pros and cons and speak with your real estate agent. They will be able to best point you in the right direction for your property.