Open Houses ~ Do you think they sell your home or do you think Realtors use
them to find clients?
I may be stepping on some toes here but I, personally do NOT think doing Open Houses sell your home. Not that I won't do them if a client wants them but I can think of many reason why they are a waste.
The majority of people coming into Open Houses ~ don't even know the price of the home walking in it. The agent is trying to get a name and phone number/email to protect the privacy of the Seller and really, do we even know if they have a job? What about security issues? What about an agent in busy open house - can they properly monitor who and what is going on? I have to wonder.
Open Houses are a personal preference. Some people think agents should earn their money and sitting in their home for two hours on a weekend is showing you are working... but I personally could spend two hours being way more productive marketing your home online and locally than a two hour window of "Lookie Lou's".
I have seen many people walk up the driveway at Open Houses and they are either just running errands and nosy or they live on the street and want to compare what your home has with theirs... but honestly, in my personal opinion, the best showings are from agents that bring their clients through. They have pre-approved them in most cases, given them the information from your listing and has a working rapport with them.
Opening your doors to strangers to walk in and out of your home to me, is not only dangerous but very rarely do homes sell from Open Houses... and the truth of the matter is, even if they have an agent and the agent sees there is an Open House, they will tell their client to pop in. That is fine but even if they like it, would it not be in the buyer's best interest for THEIR agent to see the property... more often than not, they go back again with their own agent prior to doing up an offer.
So that is my take on Open Houses. I believe there are all different reasons agents may like them but is it for their own business or for their clients???
And let's admit it, how many of us have been driving past a house and see there is an "Open House" and aren't in the market to buy a house but stop .. just because, we like the street or we want to dream or we want to see how it is decorated for ideas... LOL... :) I can't say I haven't done it too....
And truly in a market like this one, where inventory is low and listings are selling in days not weeks, are they really beneficial? If you are considering selling your home in the next few months, remember Spring market starts in February, so list sooner rather than later. If you would like a free home evaluation or even just a face to face chat about selling (no pressure), feel free to call me at 416-300-3004 (direct) or email me at michelle.makos@rogers.com and I would be happy to speak to you further.
Have an awesome weekend everyone and enjoy the 2015 Housing Market, it is going to be a good one... I can tell. Cheers !
