A Word About Open Houses
Open houses have long been a common element of selling homes in America. But should that be so? I’m going to let you decide that, but not before I let you in on a few insights. To begin with, there is ample evidence that open houses hardly ever lead to listings sold. Studies by the National Association of Realtors and others over the years have indicated that maybe 2% or fewer buyers in surveys attributed an open house as the catalyst for them purchasing their new home. In my own experience over 22 years and probably conducting at least 300 open houses, I think I’ve had one listing sell to someone who saw it for the first time walking into my open house.
Real estate brokerages sure think they’re great, though, because they teach agents classes on how to do them “the right way.” And what, may you wonder, is the purpose of their version of the ‘right way’ to do an open house?
Well, that would be…for the agents to lead generate for new clients.
That, my friend, is why most open houses happen. I have found that most clients don’t seem aware of this. Take a second to think about how many times you have gone into an open house and the agent hosting it is not the listing agent. If you can recall, I can almost guarantee that this is the case most of the time. A less-experienced agent with a smaller clientele will often pitch listing agents in their office on holding their listings open for free–happens all the time. A lot of those listing agents will take the free help because they don’t really want to spend their time hosting open houses on weekends, and they figure ‘it wouldn’t hurt, maybe a buyer will walk in’ despite statistics indicating how unlikely that is. Meanwhile, the agent hosting the open does not really know much about the property and their main goal is to pick up a client—not representing the seller.
Even agents that hold their own listings open often seem more interested in picking up more clients rather than representing their seller, which is obviously not only what they are supposed to be doing but also what they are legally obligated to do as a fiduciary. Now, I’m not saying that you cannot do BOTH—you can! Representing the property MUST take clear precedent, however..
Meanwhile, what is actually happening at these open houses? Well, at the most fundamental level, keep in mind that we are opening the doors up for pretty much anyone at all to walk into and through your house, and there is no way to control who goes in or what may happen. I’ve been fortunate in my career that nobody has ever had an incident of any theft or anything else untoward happening during an open house. But I knock on wood as I write this, and I realize that it is probably a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if.’ If you do decide you may want to have open houses, please dust off your homeowners’ insurance policy for a review to make sure you are well-protected—you may even want to connect live with your insurance agent—and please secure prescription drugs, weapons and valuables, just as you would for a showing when I’m not there.
I know I may seem “anti-open house” with these comments. I’m really not, per se. As a listing agent, I’m generally happy to do a few if needed, and if my sellers want them. I even pick up a client or two every year from them, just by sheer luck and chemistry. I just want to make sure you have a clear understanding of the pros and cons. Oh, and just so you know, I very rarely get other agents to stand-in for me, and when I do, I am selective as to which agents I put in that position, and I spend time going over property details with them in advance.