Are you looking to host an open house?
While regular showings work well for selling a house without the added efforts of an open house, sometimes they are needed if you want to sell a house quicker or start a bidding war to fetch a higher price for the property.
They can also be a great opportunity to attract new clients, network with people and get some hot leads. More than anything, they put you out in the real world and give you the opportunity to present yourself and your real estate business.
There are many ways to host an open house but there are only a few ways to host an open house the right way, that works and gets prospects bidding higher prices. This way, your efforts are not in vain and you get value for going out of your way to host an open house.
Let’s discuss how to host an open house that works, which houses qualify for it, when to do it, how to market it and how to prepare for it.
Which Houses Qualify for an Open House?
Most houses do not need an open house to sell, you can simply do showings and that will work perfectly well but when should you host an open house? Here are the two main conditions that qualify for an open house:
- If the house is in a well-known and populated area, which is in high demand
- If the house is exceptional or unique from other houses in the area
These conditions make for the perfect opportunity to host an open house. Houses in high demand, populated areas can easily spark a bidding war, which is why you want an open house to push the sale to interested parties and get a better price for it.
Conversely, if a house is not in the most populated or in-demand area but it is unique from the other houses in the area, it can qualify for an open house. This can mean it has unique architecture, unique features or some kind of prominent historical value attached to it.
In both these situations, you have a house that is rare in some way, which is a quality that justifies spending time and money for an open house. It will attract more people because it is essentially a ‘hot’ property and you can easily spark a bidding war so you can get the best price.
When to Host an Open House
The timing of your open house must be convenient to people interested in the house, otherwise no one will show up for it. Weekends are the best time for open houses because people are typically free from their routine lives during weekends.
Moreover, you want to host an open house at a time of day that brings the most foot traffic to your house. Evenings can be a hassle because of increased road traffic and there will be less daylight for you to show off the house.
So, this means the best time to host an open house is between 12 am to 4 pm on the weekend, preferably on a Sunday.
How to Market an Open House
Your ability to properly market an open house will dictate its overall success. Whether it is through the internet, word of mouth, lawn signs up front or all of them, getting the word out is important for a successful open house and here’s how you can do it.
1. Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is an age-old marketing technique that still holds significant value, you want to spread the word of your open house to all relevant people around you. Your existing social and professional circles are a good place to start.
Additionally, you want to let normal everyday people who may not know you that well also know about your open house because you never know where the right buyer may come from. Ask your family, friends and neighbors to spread the word in advance to get interested parties to show up.
2. Signage
Signs are an effective way to attract curious prospects around the neighborhood. More importantly, they help people easily find your open house without much hassle. Even though we live in the digital age of GPS, you do not want to solely rely on them to bring your buyers.
Signs around the neighborhood will save visitors’ time and make sure that interested parties arrive easily instead of searching for an hour, only to arrive, or worse, leave annoyed. For effective signage, make sure it has the direction, relevant information, solid and vibrant colors and is big enough to be legible.
While homeowners may not like lawn signs, we can guarantee they are necessary, and every open house needs them. Additionally, make sure you understand the neighborhood policy on signs before you start putting them up because some neighborhoods may have limits or restrictions.
3. Online
We live in a digital world where everything is online, and your open house should not be an exception. You need to market it online for it to attract the most relevant and profitable leads. Online is where the majority of your visitors will come from.
According to the National Association of REALTORS, more than 90 percent of all home buyers search for homes online. Which means that if you do not use the internet to market your open house, you are missing out on a bulk of your potential buyers.
Here are a few places where you should post the timing, dates, photos, description, and location of your open house.
- Your Website or Blog
As most real estate professional do, you probably have a blog or website. If you do not, then we highly recommend you get one immediately to create your online presence. That being said, post your open house on your blog or website to get your active visitors to show up. - Facebook
With roughly 8 billion active users worldwide, Facebook is a major source to market your open house. Post on your personal and company profile, create an event and use targeted ads to spread the word. - Zillow
Posting your open house on Zillow is important because it is arguably the primary online hub for real estate buyers and sellers. - Realtor
Another popular online platform is Realtor. Post your listing here to market to their users. - Others
There are plenty of other places online, like Trulia, where you can post your open house to market it online. Find them, join them and post about your open house.
Simply make sure that you post relevant and accurate information online along with high-quality images. Your pictures must be professional grade and showcase the best features of the house you are presenting.
Preparation & Presentation to Host an Open House
Once you have marketing in the bag, it is time to prepare your home for presentation on D-day. Firstly, you want your house to be squeaky clean and free of dirt and dust. We recommend conducting a deep clean or hiring professionals to do it for you because you never want to present an unclean house.
Moreover, you want the house to be universally appealing, from the inside out, to all your visitors. This means decluttering living spaces, trimming lawns and painting areas that need it. And as standard practice, pull back the drapes for the sunlight to work its magic and bake some delicious cookies.
That’s it, your house is ready and prepared for the best open house you will ever host for profitable returns. However, you may need assistance in preparing or hosting your open house, which is where we come in.
What We Do
OktoHub is the first ever on-demand real estate assistance program designed for real estate professionals. It allows you to find and network with other real estate professionals around you, to create a powerful network of reliable and trusted partners.
You will never have to compromise your time for work any longer. You can use your network of trusted partners when you need them the most.
For example, in the case that you have prepared everything for an amazing open house but you have an emergency on the day of. You can easily find assistance on OktoHub to help you out in such a situation.
For more information on real estate, open houses or OktoHub, please visit our website today.
