Brokers' Opens: Slinging Hash or Good Marketing?

I start whining and moaning every Monday afternoon about "slinging hash" for the upcoming Wednesday Broker Opens. I run out of ideas, I'm too busy, I vaguely resent the idea of bribing agents "to do their job" and see the inventory. Most weeks, though, I stick to my plans and "just do it". Terry Chenier's post Realtor's Opens With Food. asked other agents if serving food was necessary or even a good idea. As a St. Charles, IL real estate agent, I hear mixed opinions from other agents: some say "waste of time and money", others say "can't get 'em in without feeding 'em".

I believe that Broker Opens are just one more way to expose the home to the market, and if a little food helps bring a St. Charles, IL real estate agent into the house, I'll serve it. Like all marketing activities, nothing stands alone. For my listings, each house gets a marketing communications plan depending on it's position in the market and it's competition. If the listing is a "sleeper" house in St. Charles, IL -- e.g. modest curb appeal, unusual for the area -- asking agents to "come take a look" might get the right St. Charles, IL real estate agent in the door. I think my reputation of "good tour food" is a perfectly OK way to attract attention. I also know that it is one more chance to email or call agents who might have a buyer.

In November I took over a relo listing in my neighborhood in St. Charles, IL. House had been listed for five months with a good broker, had good professional photos, a good internet presence, and a good price. Seller said that previous agent said that broker opens and open houses were a waste of time, and that you never sold a house off one. This agent also worked in another county, so his network probably isn't as strong as mine as a St. Charles, IL real estate agent.

This was definitely a sleeper house -- very plain from the outside but pretty cool for St. Charles, IL real estate. I did not lower the price. I held broker opens two weeks in a row -- with lunch -- and public open houses on the weekends. The first week of the listing, an agent from my office walked in to the tour lunch and said "I have a client who would love this, but they're under contract. I didn't even show this to them, I had no idea it was so nice inside". When inspection issues weren't resolved on the other contract, it fell apart and and they wrote on this house. An agent from our biggest local competitor also "dropped by" for my normal broker open party, and he brought in a buyer who also wrote on it. Yet another agent saw it go under contract and sent over an offer he'd been holding back, waiting for it to take it's next relo price drop. (Those buyers called a half dozen times to ask if it had really sold and was it going to close. All I could do is to tell them to talk to their agent).

Three offers in two weeks in very cold weather, right before Thanksgiving, for a house that had been listed for 5 months. Sold and closed in 45 days by this hash-slingin' St. Charles, IL real estate agent -- at close to list price!

I agree this doesn't happen every week, but this particular house needed people inside it to see how great it was. Even professional photos of the interior didn't give the sense of the house. You just had to see it, so if chili and cookies got agents in, it was well worth my time and money!