How do you know there is strong interest? And what can you do to make the inerest stronger? Ask your agent that.

Hi Dorothy!

Let me preface by saying that I am a local Realtor in your market (i.e., Coatesville) ... I primarily cover Chester County, my office is in Exton. I will tell you that I'm not a huge fan of open houses. NAR (the national assoc of realtors) have produced studies that show less than 1% of homes (I may be off by a percent or two) are sold as a result of an open house. Yikes! As for me, I rarely use this strategy to generate traffic. Nevertheless, I too have found open houses to be less effective -- a waste of the seller's time in prepping the property. And it's true, most agents embrace open houses because oftentimes it will generate buyer leads. Another factor to the success of an open house in addition to location/area is price point. In our local market, I have found that homes priced below $300K are better attended than those at the higher end of the spectrum. It tends to draw first time home buyers or "future" buyers. Most serious buyers (who will buy today if they find the right property or purchasing at the higher price point) have already aligned themselves with a Buyer's Agent and have the agent schedule a personal showing ... Not wait for an open house to surface. On the other hand, I have conducted broker's opens ... but rarely. Generally, a broker attending a broker's open will oftentimes not generate "the buyer" for the property. Because if the broker had "the buyer" in mind for this listing, they would have already made the appointment and showed the property. So again I say, opens of any kind are less effective in getting the house sold. This is just not "my opinion" -- but the stats prove it. However, on the other hand, i have find broker's open to be very beneficial in soliciting agent feedback on price and condition of my listings -- which has served as great feedback for my sellers.

Hope this was helpful!

Hi there,

As for public open houses I would guess it depends on your location. I live in Chicago, and in the actual city. The current condo we bought was a result of an open house. Also a few years ago, our condo sold from someone coming by during an open house, and lastly, our neighbors who have their place on the market received an offer from a couple that came by during an open house.

Hi Dorothy –
I think the effectiveness of a broker open house varies by area. They are a good idea in our area, since they tend to be pretty well attended, but that may not be so in all areas. Also, many times the agents don’t necessarily have buyers at that price point.
It’s true that public open houses don’t generally sell the house. But I have sold some homes through open houses. One contributing factor: These homes had an attractive exterior but even nicer interior. They really benefited from the increased traffic.
So if you do have your agent hold an open house, really go the extra mile with staging and cleaning, fresh flowers, etc. Make your home a really nice SURPRISE when people walk through and you will increase your chances of success.
One other note is the timing of the open house, which can be tricky. In our coastal town, if it is a very hot day, we don’t get good attendance since everyone goes to the beach instead. Also, we have had a slow few weeks while many people were busy with school ending, graduations, etc. So work with your agent to figure out your best local open house times.
It’s worth a try and good luck to you

Dorothy,
When it was a sellers market a couple years ago, No one did Open Houses because their listings sold before they could hold one. Now, in this buyers market, an Open House can be beneficial if only for the extra exposure. Believe me, neighbors are a good thing. If they can control who moves in near them , they will. They are a great sourse of potential buyers. The best of luck to you!
Michael

Michael D Delp
Mortgage Pro
4802 Old Bethlehem Pike,
Telford Pa. 18969
Ph- 215-453-1025
Fax- 215-453-1012
Cell- 610-762-0318
michaelddelp@aol.com
michaelddelp@verizon.net http://www.mortgagepro.instantlender.com

Dorothy
I think that you need to sit down with your Realtor. You want to sell, right? So you need a buyer?
You will not find a buyer unless you have more traffic. The rule of thumb is 10-12 showings in the first two weeks or one offer, or you need to lower the price.

Ask your Realtor how many homes, like yours, have sold or entered escrow since your home hit the market. Open houses are only one tool out of many used to market homes. You hired a Realtor, now put them to work.

Yes it is true that the odds of the buyer for your house will not come during an open house. However it is better to have a realtor conduct the open house, there is alot of advertising that goes into preparing for an open house. Neighbors are good because they may know a buyer and that is free advertising because love to tell when houses in their neighborhood are on the market. Your agent should be following up with those who show interest in your property and that is hard to do when you try to do it yourself. People who might be interested in your house are less likely to discuss things with you.

In the time I have been a Realtor, I have had only one sale because of an open house. A very good bit of leads, and mostly neighbors.

Broker's open house is very good, so that the other agents can come by to see what your home offers.

In today's market, you MUST have the home priced correctly and have some incentives kicked in for the buyer's agent and/or the seller.

It is highly unlikely that your home will sell from an open house but there is always the chance that it will. It's not bad to have neighbors come in, they may know someone who would like it, but most agents use open houses to find more buyers.