Advantages and Disadvantages of an Open House

Signs.  Signs scattered all over the side of the road catching your eye.  For most, they just keep driving but for others it grabs them and pulls them in...

Open House Turn Here

Open House Next Left

Open houses are no secret in the real estate industry.  They're one of the oldest tricks in the book for agents to sell a house for their clients.  But over the years, regardless of the signs in every front yard, open houses have became less popular.  They can still be done though, and there are some advantages to hosting one.  On the other hand though, sometimes the time and effort could be spent on something else.

The biggest open house killer is the internet.  The majority of people spend hours a day on their phone and online.  So, if they want to find a house, there are plenty of ways to do it all on one device from the comfort of their own home.  They aren't going to go looking for open houses.  People can look at a number of houses in the time it would take them to go to one open house.  In addition, the probability of finding a buyer at the open house is low.  It isn't impossible, and open houses in the luxury home side of real estate tend to work pretty well.  But, for your average blue collar worker, the middle of the road people, it's a little more difficult.

Open houses aren't all bad though!  The biggest advantage you have as an agent when you have an open house, is that they're open to everybody.  As a buyer, open houses can feel less stressful up front instead of going through the whole home buying process.  Sometimes, open houses just feel like a breathe of fresh air. 

From an agent perspective, open houses are always a good way to network!  They attract potential buyers and contacts for the future.  Also, they are really effective marketing tools and while that specific open house doesn't draw a sale that day, you just might have laid the ground work to have one in the future!

There are pros and cons to hosting an open house.  Sometimes it's feasible and sometimes is isn't.  Just weigh them out before putting a sign in your front yard.  And whatever you do, don't spray paint a sign and nail it to the tree in your frontyard.  It's definitely not a good look.

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