My truth about Open Houses...

Here's my truth about public open houses... THEY DON'T SELL HOMES!

I know, I know, burn me at the stake... banish me from the land... stone me. The point is, I have NEVER sold the home I am sitting at the open house. Here's why...

1. The people who walk in usually come in from the signs. They don't come from the ads (because I think print ads don't do squat either.) They don't usually come from the internet either. So, because they come from the sign they don't know the price, the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, or any of the other features of the house. Therefore, people who come into open houses are NOT qualified buyers.

2. Looky-Loos and Nosey Neighbors abound. Infact, most people who come, come from the neighborhood. They want to see what their neighbors live like, what their decorating taste is, and to get ideas how they can upgrade their own kitchen... I find that open houses tend to be community events rather than buyer magnets.

However, what I have learned that open houses are GOOD for is the following...

1. Buyer Leads/Client Leads. Good for the Realtor! While most of the people who come in aren't qualified to buy that home that they walk into, perhaps their interested in buying SOME home. If their not working with an agent, then it's a lead for the sitting agent!

2. Their good for Realtor-client relations. Most Realtor's don't tell their clients the hard truth about open houses and so they make their sellers feel that they're doing something to help sell their homes. In truth, only 1-2% of homes are sold through open houses, so an agent would have to sit a home open every Sunday for 2 YEARS before they should expect to sell that house. Let's calculate that out...3 hours a week, 50 Weeks a year, for 2 Years is 300 Hours of work for 1 sale. Forget it. I can do alot of other productive things to sell that home that have a much more effective result.

3. They're great for LAZY Realtors. If I don't want to show my clients, I can hand him/her a list of the open houses and basically say "show yourself" and "call me when you find the house you want." I guess that having a person through is better than not, but I still feel that these "buyers" aren't as qualified.

So there you have it... What do you think?

Until next time,