We put wrapped chocolates in little Chinese takeout boxes we got from Michael's Craft store. On one side of the box we glued a picture of our house with "Thanks for visiting! under it. On the other side of the box we attached a sticker with the MLS#.

I did the gas card thing last spring. got a lot of visitors but none serious. i like the idea of bottled water but i would never serve refreshments at a public open house. Yes,we do serve food at the weekly Broker's open houses. I would be too afraid of people coming in with kids who would make a mess with food. i used to be listing agent for a construction company in a particular subdivision. We always kept a bowl of candy on the kitchen counter. keep in mind that this was the model home which had been professionally decorated and was fully furnished. Another agent came in to deliver a contract and brought a toddler grandchild. one of her first actions was to reach into the candy bowl and hand the little one a Reese's peanut butter cup. i almost had a heart attack worrying for the safety of the fabrics & furniture!

During the summer months it is always a good idea to have bottled water. No one has turned down an offer for water so far.

There's nothing better than fresh baked cookies to get their attention....cookies and milk and a home that smells homey and inviting.

I'm not sure refreshments are a good idea at an open house. I have some other thoughts about how to maximize the effectiveness in a blog post that I published, "13 Steps to a Successful Open House."

Hi William, here is another idea that is catching on here in NJ - I've seen it used at Broker's Open Houses but would also be a great idea for a Pubic Open House - GAS CARD drawing! At a Public Open House it could be a great draw PLUS offer a reward for providing complete contact information so you can follow up with your guests after.

I'm liking this idea so much I'm going to use it for my next Public Open House!

Thanks for starting this thread - some good ideas here.

Best,
Jeannie Feenick
Weichert Realtors
Search and connect at http://www.feenick.com

GREAT question and the responces are very insightful.

Thanks,
The "Eckler Team"

As a buyer, hot or cold (based on weather) refreshments that come from a sealed container. I prefer cold bottled water or the packets of coco/tea and a pot of hot water. I don't mind being asked to stay off the carpet with them, but if I can sip my water as I walk I will stay longer and since I shop with my wife we'll discuss the house more if we aren't parched. We often visit several houses in a row and in the summer water makes a huge difference on how we wander the house. Hard candies are a good one for the relief from that parched feeling, plus they are individually wrapped, cheap, and the instant sugar always makes me feel better.

Here on the Bradbury Team at Coldwell Banker Heritage, we do open houses on most sunday afternoons. We do not do them on Holidays, like Christmas, Mothers Day, Super Bowl Sunday, etc.
It is good to always have a nice center piece on the table. Fresh Flowers are ideal. Fresh baked cookies are also an excellent idea. We always bake them during the open house, to add a friendly and welcoming smell in the home. If I feel lucky, and feel that I will sell the house that day, I bake an apple pie.
We get much more creative for Broker's Open Houses , which are usually held on Tuesday afternoons at lunch for local realtors. Don Bradbury 215-536-6777 x 329 http://www.bradburyteam.com

William:
I like your idea! When in Rome, do as the romans. I like to go with the seasons. Summertime, I bring out thr lemonade and fresh strawberries. Halloween, brings apple cider and cookies. But , no matter what I do, most people are really interested in the house, and not the refreshments. So, don't sweat the small stuff!

What has been working quite interesting is playing CD Album with original compositions
I am not trying to be in frontline to say about my CD , but recently a realtor whom just bought my CD played the Album throughtout her open house. She noticed people were not in a hurry to leave. Instead they stayed in the house until the songs were over.
The realtor said it gave her a chance to chat further with the visitors and got to know them better as her qualified clients.
In case you are curious the CD Album is called : Supernal Sky at the link below .
Hi my name is Firooz , and I am the composer of this CD .

I have never offered refreshments unless it is the very first open house or their will be other open houses in the area that day and it is going to be a big event. I do however pass out other things such as pens for the adults and baloons for the children.

I usually do not provide refreshments. It is very common in this area to provide drawings.

I don't always offer refreshments, but if it's really cold out, a water filled coffee pot with packets of hot chocolate work. I do the 'making' so the powdered chocolate doesn't get all over the place.

And I agree with all the comments about not wanting people trapsing food all over the house. On that note however, since I feel comfortable asking them to take their shoes off when it's required, I am comfortable saying 'after you have toured the home, come back into the kitchen and get some hot chocolate and then we can talk about the house.' Or variations thereof LOL

Ruthless - ha, I know that trick (we have 2 children and play "find that smell" in the suv on a regular basis.)

I love the lottery ticket idea Francesca!

By the way, I was joking about the milk. William had a promo in another question with a cow theme.

In college, I had a drunk friend try to sober up by drinking milk. He was sitting in a low chair and set the glass on the carpet as he passed out. The glass tipped over and spilled behind the chair. When he woke up, he didn't realize he had not drank the milk. He took the glass and left. It was a hot day. When I came back from classes that day, the milk had soured. The story only gets worst but you get the idea.
Ruth

William,

I would be careful w/refreshments. Do u really want people spilling food all over your house? If you have multiple guests at one time, it sometimes becomes difficult to keep them contained. I have had to chase people around the house explaining that they cannot be unescorted. It can get sticky.

If you are looking for a way to attract people, I find lottery tickets work like a charm! Put your address on the back of the ticket and ask them to contact you if they win!

Frances "Francesca" Patrizio, Weichert Realtor
NJAR Circle of Excellence 2006 . . .
Weichert Million Dollar Sales & Market Club 2006, 2007
Weichert Million Dollar Marketed Club 2006, 2007
Weichert Brielle OVERALL Top Producer 2006 . . .
732.606.2931 (Direct)

Milk to go with your cow theme.

I was talking about public opens but answers about brokers opens certainly welcome! When we did our brokers open we sent the full menu in the invitation. I guess we did a decent job - all the realtors who came were suprised at how many folks showed up...

I erroneously assumed the question was about broker opens. I hate public opens. I usually sit for 2 hours doing paperwork. We really don't get a good turnout. We're in a tourist area. Pumpkin pickers don't usually buy a house on impulse. :)

I know your original question was refreshments... I tend to lean also on the side that closed refreshments are better .... to be completly honest I never have refreshments @ open houses ... The norm is a great catered lunch for a broker/ realtor tour.

I haven't done this yet but it worked well for another women at our office, she bought boxes of popcorn and slapped a label on each individually wrapped pack ...... with her contact info and a quick not that simply said " thanks for popping in" :)

All sound goods to me!!! You can have a give away.

Where I am we go all out with open houses. Boy oh boy, if all I had was water to serve no one would come to my open houses. We have agents that make homemade pizza, homemade soups, homemade chili, bring in cheese platters from trendy places.... We have contests for agents where they guess the price of the house sells for (which also helps in getting price opinions).

Since I am showing my client's house, i try not to provide messy refreshments, such as brownies, sandwiches; if so, I would ask them to either stay in the kitchen to finish it up or wrap them nicely in napkins to take it with them.

Cold water with personalized labels, and yes, Costco comes to rescue, bags of gold fish and mixed nuts with your business card attached work well too. It's a long afternoon in and out of houses and cars, the little snack is appreciated, especially people with young kids.

Sylvia

With our experiences, we have had higher success with food and drink products that were prepackaged and sealed or nobody tends to take the stuff. Cold ice water bottles is the biggest "taker" for us with our own personalized labels and property address. Cookies hit and miss get eaten. Our goldfish crackers pre-packaged are strangely enjoyed too which I was not expecting.

Ed-too funny and so true. "Hey honey I have all of these cookies nobody ate." Me: "Get them OUT of here!"
:-)

In the summer weather.....cold water works well and in the winter warm cider is quite warming. Fresh baked cookies are always a great treat. Sometimes I will have an apple pie baking in the oven just for the aroma.

When selling rural property (horsey property), I advertized the home and invited buyers to come out for BBQ hot dogs, beer, soda and all the trimmings and it worked terrific in the sellers market. Loads of neighbors came for the BBQ.

I wouldn't try it in the current market. Not enough takers and few visitors. You might find yourself $200.00 poorer, COSTCO $200,00 richer, 10 pounds heavier and half lit.

During the hot southern months I just had plenty of ice cold water... this went over so well - because the people were hot!

There was a couple that put fresh baked cookies out - but there were very few takers.

I like to have small goody bags (filled with my marketing paraphenelia) as a hand out - it's cute with a ribbon in my agency colors - and full of notepads, potpourri, etc... It looks cute & they are taking my info with them! No candy - but sweet nonetheless!