Home showings are crucial for a real estate business. As a real estate professional, you want to present homes in their best conditions so that buyers can see themselves living in them. This is how you get good offers for your clients.
When most homebuyers make a buying decision, it is based more on emotions and feelings and less on logic. Engaging them during a showing can result in a great deal. Since the listing agent and homeowner are not always present during a showing, you need to engage buyers’ senses throughout the house.
Let’s discuss how to prepare for a successful showing to help you engage potential buyers and sell more homes.
If you ever need professional help with real estate tasks like a home showing or home inspection, always use OktoHub to hire trusted professionals. OktoHub can help you get individual real estate tasks done professionally without breaking the bank or making a permanent long-term hire.
That being said, let’s dive right in.
How to Prepare for a Successful Showing
There are many ways to prepare for a successful showing that engages buyers. Here we will discuss the key ones you should be doing.
Clean and De-Clutter
No one likes a dirty or messy home, and cleaning goes a long way to attract buyers by engaging their vision and imagination. You can always clean it yourself to save money. However, if you are an active real estate professional, it is better to hire a professional cleaning company to do the job for you.
A professional cleaning company will save you time with cleaning tasks. Its professionals will also have the resources to do a deep clean that you may not be able to pull off yourself. Another important step is to de-clutter the home. Limit yourself to a few furnishings and decorative pieces per room, and remove any possessions or signs of life.
Potential buyers cannot envision themselves living in a home they feel is or was occupied. If they see other people’s possessions, it is difficult for them to envision their own stuff in the living spaces. Even little things like a handprint on the wall or a used ashtray in the corner get noticed by buyers as signs of existing residents.
Try to eliminate as many of these signs as possible. You should also have ample negative space for buyers to inspect every corner of the home and fill the empty spaces in their minds. Stage minimally and keep the home clear to encourage their imagination and let them mentally personalize the home without limits.
Host a Welcoming House
Make the house feel welcoming even before the buyers step inside to have a successful showing. First impressions are crucial, and you can achieve this by adding curb appeal to the house. Here is our comprehensive post for adding curb appeal to a house without breaking the bank.
Despite being guests, you want to make potential buyers feel like it is their home, so they can picture themselves owning the place. Asking them to take their shoes off, pushing sales, or pressuring them to take the deal, are all things you want to avoid during a home showing.
There is a time for pitching logic, and the start of your home showing is not it. You want to discuss the house’s comforts, views, and neighborhood before getting into things like its resale value, amenities, or upgrades.
Of course, as a real estate professional, you always want to be transparent and honest about any logical or financial questions and concerns the buyer may have. However, a home showing gives you the perfect opportunity to showcase a house in the best light to buyers, allowing them to imagine what it feels like to live in it.
Adjust the Thermostat
Part of being welcoming is to set the right temperature in the house. Hot or cold houses will prevent your buyer from imagining living in such houses. It will also make them question the HVAC systems. Home showings are not the time to worry about energy bills. So, set a comfortable temperature according to the weather.
Brighten Up the House
Similarly, you want to brighten up the house by turning the lights on, inside and out. Open the curtains to let the light in, and showcase the views. If there are dark spaces, don’t be afraid to add a lamp to brighten things up.
However, avoid turning TVs or screens on or playing loud music, as they can be distracting. Lastly, make sure to leave all the doors open, so buyers can experience spaces to the maximum and feel welcome everywhere they go. Leave an open door slightly ajar if it looks or feels disruptive to the space.
Leave the House if Possible
After welcoming the buyers, one of the best things you can do is leave>. Buyers are always more comfortable without the listing agent hovering over their head, explaining every detail, amenity, and upgrade.
Ideally, it would be best to let them look around, telling them gently that you’ll be happy to answer any questions once they are done. Give them space to view the house and evaluate their options in a relaxed, welcoming manner.
Provide an Information Pack or Pamphlet
It is also a great idea to leave an information pack or pamphlet at the entrance or on a countertop. You can even hand it to the buyer as you leave. It can include all the house’s information, pictures, historical details, sale inclusions, or other details you feel are worth sharing. The great thing about this is that it is something that the buyer can take home, and it reduces the need for you to make sales pitches.
Inspire Good Vibes
Stage the home to create a space that buyers want to live in but never go overboard. Clutter can kill the sale of a good home. You want to leave room for buyers to move around, inspect, and be able to fill the negative spaces with their imagination. Play to the strengths of the house to inspire good vibes.
It can be calming, relaxing, romantic, glamorous, or fun, as long as it helps highlight the space. Soft and unobtrusive music that isn’t distracting is also great for inspiring good vibes. If there are water features in the house, turn them on for a natural, calming vibe.
Natural Scents
You can further engage the buyer’s senses through smells. You don’t want to use room sprays, deodorizers, or any artificial scents because the people you’re showing the house may be allergic to them. Opt for natural smells, like spices or baked goods.
Snacks and Treats
Offer some baked goods because the smells will make the people looking at the house want to eat something. Speaking of food, it is always a good idea to place some snacks or treats on the kitchen counter or near the entrance.
It is a welcoming sign, and buyers may want a snack during a lengthy home showing. Just make sure to provide the necessary utensils, napkins, and plates.
Thank You Note
Another great trick is to place a Thank You note for the buyers next to the snacks or treats. It is even better to personalize the note for the specific buyer. This gesture leaves a good impression on the interested buyer, and the note becomes something that to remember you by.
Encourage Feedback
As a real estate professional, you always want to improve the potential buyer’s experience during a home showing. Part of a successful home showing is to encourage anonymous feedback from the buyers. It makes your job easier to learn things that can help you sell homes.
You can use the feedback to improve the home showing experience for the next buyer that visits. You will be surprised to learn how a few simple things can help improve the buyer’s experience and your chances of making a sale.
Conclusion
Home showings have the power to make or break potential deals. Hence, you need to ensure that your home is clean, de-cluttered, minimally staged, and welcoming. The tips we have shared will help you make a great impression on buyers. Remember to add curb appeal, set the right temperature, and brighten up the home.
Providing an information pack and leaving the house will help your buyers explore the home while feeling comfortable. Don’t be afraid to set the mood to play to the house’s strengths and make the experience better by adding natural smells, snacks, and a thank you note.
Feedback is important to learn about improvements, but make sure it is anonymous. These things will help you prepare for a successful showing and increase our chances of selling homes.
What We Do
Showings and staging can be time-consuming and tiring. Often, real estate professionals have to compromise on their personal time to accommodate clients and potential buyers. OktoHub can help you put an end to this.
OktoHub is the first-ever on-demand real estate assistance program that helps you create a network of real estate professionals around you. OktoHub allows you to hire these professionals for a one-time, individual real estate task like a showing, staging, home inspection, or client meeting.
You only pay for the individual task, which means you don’t have to commit to a long-term hire as you would with a full-time assistant. OktoHub makes the lives of real estate professionals easy by providing them with a network of trusted professionals they can hire in a pinch.
If you want to learn more about how to prepare for a successful showing or about the network and real estate assistance benefits of OktoHub, please visit our website today.
