Little-Known Ways We Use to Attract More Open House Guests

Although open houses have been around for more than a few decades, they are not used as often as they once were. Many real estate agents no longer hold open houses because showings are more manageable. Still, sometimes an open house is precisely the thing to spark interest. The key is to do an open house right, and since times are changing, you want to hold an open house that stands out among the crowds. Think outside the box to attract qualified buyers and bring people in to see. Here are some helpful open house tips for sellers we’ve used to showcase our luxury homes and get them off the market quickly.

Considering open houses aren’t as standard, you may wonder if there’s a point to having one. Let’s talk about that briefly. Open houses are an excellent way to get your home seen by various buyers from widespread areas. These are a great chance to showcase the exterior of your home and work on curb appeal to make people want to stop and see the inside. Work to focus on your home's unique features, inside and outside, so buyers see the potential. Assuming your luxury home isn’t like every other home for sale, you want to showcase that, and an open house is the best way to accomplish this.

Consider what makes your home unique: the refurbished flooring or proximity to restaurants and shopping. You can use an open house to showcase the demand for your home, the home's location, or any other rare find that will put your home on top. Remember that your goal is to have your home seen by as many people as quickly as possible, increasing your chance of selling for top dollar. Weekends are often a great time to do this because people are off work and running their errands. The timing will play a role as well. If you’re in a high-demand metropolitan area, consider a morning open house, while those in the suburbs might want to stick with an afternoon time slot.

Although your agent will undoubtedly help you market your open house, or in our case, take the lead,  you can spread the word to more people in several ways. Because we live in a digital world, using the internet will be one of the main ways people find their homes. More than 93% of homebuyers use the internet to find open houses when looking to purchase a new home. For that reason alone, using various websites to highlight the time and date of your open house, as well as photos and descriptions, will get you further.

Here are a few places you can list your open house.

The MLS is the first place an agent will list your house because it’s a platform where brokers and agents can share information with other brokers and agents. Doing so allows them to get your home seen by a wider audience.

Another great social media tool allows you to create special events to share from a personal or public standpoint. They also feature a marketplace where you can see Summerhill homes for sale and share open house advertisements to your area and the surrounding areas.

 

Similar to the MLS, your agent's website will be one of the first places your open house is shared. Not only will this benefit you when clients visit their website, but it also benefits the agent. We syndicate your MLS listing with a number of other sites buyers are on looking for homes. Your listing will also get its own website where we share the information about an open house. So, no matter where they find the original listing, buyers will have knowledge about when they can come check it out on their own or with their agent. Often, a successful open house tour will have potential buyers booking a second private showing with their agent - and that’s the goal!

You’ve likely gone through decluttering, deep cleaning, and staging your home if you have an open house. That’s where we come in next. It’s our job to ensure high-quality photos and cinematic videos of your home are done to highlight its special features. Natural lighting is a great way to show off, so we will book this according to your home’s exposure. We advertise them on social media and various websites professionally, and they are something you can share with your own network too.

 

One last tip after you’ve finished doing what’s necessary to prepare is to leave the home. You might want to be there to see the reward for all your efforts, but trusting that your agent has things handled is the better way to go. You want buyers to feel comfortable and speak candidly about your home. Not only will this allow your realtor to see what potential items might need to be dealt with, but it gives them an idea of what people love about the home. Trust that your agent’s expertise will allow them to handle the open house easily and do what’s necessary to sell your home.

 

Lastly, we understand the concern about privacy. Some sellers don’t want nosy neighbours walking through their homes. One thing we can do is open up your home to our professional network of other licensed Brokers and Sales Representatives called a Brokers Open. This type of event invites top Realtors in the city to come check out your home during a designated period of time (similar to a public open house) that they might not otherwise have seen right away if their buyers are out of town. While we believe in the power of professional photography and videography, there’s nothing like the feeling of standing in the home yourself. Sometimes buyers can like something based on what they see online, but love it based on its overall energy, and space. This event will enable other Brokers to freely preview the property for their clients and give their first-hand feedback. The goal is to get their buyers to agree to a private preview if they think it’s a great fit.

As you can see, there are several ways to turn an open house into something spectacular that draws interest from a widespread audience. These tips will help not only in preparing your home but giving you a boost in reaching your target audience so the open house does well. When you’re ready to get started, contact Fata Real Estate Group. We are happy to help.