BTW, this isn’t just my opinion. Multiple buyers we have worked with over the past few years have commented about how different it is buying today then in the past. The above is just a summary of their opinions.

An agent’s marketing efforts are clearly more effective and efficient when focused on the methods that work on a predictable and broader scale if the intent from those efforts is to actually sell the home. Agents continue to justify the open house because they are preserving a lead generation tool. Recently, I’ve found that even sellers are becoming much more savvy about the ineffectiveness of an open house.

Eight years ago – I did sell a house on an open. It was my very first listing – the first guy that walked in on my very first open house. Beginner’s luck.

After the first two open houses I do not like to have the home owner leave their home on a Sunday for 3 hours on the very unlikely chance that the right buyer for their home will just happen buy and want to look. This same buyer, if they are motivated enough to be writing a offer on said home is likely doing a fair amount of research online and is totally aware of the home.

When the market was totally hot back in 2004 I managed to sell 3 homes at the open house but a real estate market like that will likely not be back in this lifetime.

Jim

I think a big part of open houses, like anything else, is how you do them. More often then not (from what I see) 95% of them are done wrong to begin with so it’s kind of tough to have decent numbers selling them in the first place. Put a sign or two out, sit around and pray, etc…

Watch the Trademark group (they swear by them) after they rehab a home and see how they turn it into an event. It is over the top but borrow the techniques… and this means the homeowners having that home professionally staged before even starting it up.

I certainly don’t think you should select a real estate agent just because they are going to do an open house — or even a brokers caravan, etc.. since statistically, these are going to have the lowest success ratios in actually selling the home but once again… we go back to how many of them are just… well… open houses.

If this particular person really wants to select an agent that is going to do open houses, the key part is selecting the real estate agent that knows how to do them — and straight out ask them what they are going to do for the open house.

“They do not want to do open houses, broker open houses, company caravans, tour new listings, showcase or feature my home, advertise in local paper or other means, will not personally show my home (I have to deal with buyers agents to set up showing and leaving my property) or any other effective marketing tools a professional Realtor will utilize.”

Just because they find a real estate agent that does all of the above… does not mean it will sell a home. It’s how they do it.