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Open houses are a great way to market your home and attract more potential buyers. But they can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re not sure if there’s anything cool or different you can do that’ll draw people in.
Open houses are held by real estate agents to allow prospective buyers to examine available listings without making an appointment. It’s a strong tool for agents to meet active buyers and create real estate leads while also selling properties in less time. There are a lot of things to accomplish before, during, and after open houses, but using a checklist can help you stay organized.
Things you should do before the open house
It takes meticulous preparation to host an open house that draws purchasers and creates real estate leads for future business. To determine the ideal time for the event, arrange the home to appear its best, create your marketing materials, and publicize the open house, follow these four steps:
1. Schedule the Best Day & Time for Your Open House
Although most open houses take place on Sunday afternoons, you could experiment with other days and times. Choosing an unusual day or time slot, depending on your market, may actually result in more visits and possible purchases. Additionally, holding many open houses on both weekend and non-weekend days might help you attract various sorts of active buyers or generate more traffic for homes that are more difficult to sell.
Private showings may happen at any moment, but using a scheduling tool like Calendly helps make the process go more smoothly. Open time slots depending on your availability for showings, and potential buyers may plan a showing by clicking on a link without having to contact you. It eliminates the logistical headaches of back-and-forth email messages and phone tags, simplifying the process and ensuring that you don’t miss appointments.
The Sunday Standard
In many regions, prospective buyers expect to see open houses on Sunday. People generally have activities on Saturdays, but Sundays provide them the opportunity to attend open homes on a day when they are not scheduled. Rental open houses are conducted on Saturdays in New York City, whereas for-sale open houses are held on Sundays, so prepare appropriately depending on your target demographic.
To attract buyers who are eager to see as many houses as possible in one day, schedule your open house for later in the afternoon (such as 3 to 5 p.m. rather than 1 to 3 p.m.). Or, to accommodate as many prospective buyers as possible, have two open houses on the same day, one from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the other from 3 to 5 p.m.
Nontraditional Days & Times
Nontraditional days and hours work well in various markets. Buyers may prefer the opportunity to visit an open house on a weeknight if your market is one where people tend to go away for the weekend. Communities with a high number of retirees and swing shift employees may also benefit from turning up at odd hours. With a new approach, you could be astonished at how many individuals you can catch.
Holidays
It might be difficult to have an open house on or around a holiday, since it may force homeowners to disturb holiday plans and family gatherings. However, if you believe an open house will be well-attended, remember to strike a balance between your client’s requests and your responsibility to maximize the value of their property.
Holidays are frequently ideal for showcasing chances in vacation areas, so they are an obvious exception. Similarly, if a house is vacant, holiday showings may not be a problem. You may even choose to have a virtual open house over the holidays (or at any other time) to minimize the disruption to the present owner.
Hosting virtual events instead of in-person open houses is an alternate open house concept that may help you reach out to more people. Conduct a live walk-through of the house using a video conference program like Facebook Live or Zoom. Invite real estate brokers and buyers to your virtual open house and encourage them to ask questions in real-time. Make sure you have a mechanism to gather contact information for follow-up and lead generation, as well as marketing materials that can be distributed through email, just as you would during a conventional open house.
2. Prepare the Home & Property
Before you display your listing to prospective buyers, make sure it’s ready to shine and show off the home’s full potential. This is where home staging comes in, and it can be a huge help.
Furniture arrangement and selection, as well as balancing the overall palette, are all aspects of staging. However, you and the homeowners should take further steps to prepare the home for a successful open house. For example, one of the most cost-effective and significant things homeowners can do to make their property more desirable to buyers is to tidy and remove personal stuff such as family photographs.
You should also make sure that any house repairs have been completed, that it has been given a thorough cleaning, and that low-cost renovations such as repainting have been completed. Don’t forget to look at the outside of the house as well, since curb appeal is one of the most effective methods to raise a home’s selling price. To make it more attractive to potential buyers, use a range of curb appeal tactics.
(Picture courtesy of Pixabay)
The purpose of home staging is to showcase a property in such a manner that it appeals to the most number of prospective buyers possible, resulting in an offer. If the sellers are reluctant or unable to pay for professional staging, use a virtual staging firm such as BoxBrownie to produce digitally staged images. Virtual staging is a less expensive alternative that nevertheless allows purchasers to view the home’s full potential.
As an example of staging (Source: BoxBrownie)
Pro tip: During all showings and open houses, it’s preferable if the sellers are not present. The major reason for this is that it’s difficult for potential buyers to imagine themselves in the property while the existing owners are around. It also discourages purchasers from expressing their own views and opinions, since they will feel compelled to say something terrible if the homeowners are there.
3. Create materials for the Open House’s marketing.
Prepare your open house marketing materials well ahead of time. The open house invites, sign-in forms, flyers or brochures, and business cards are just a few examples. It’s also worth mentioning that having a professional logo and design on your marketing materials can help customers recall your services. On Fiverr, you can have a professional logo or even an entire brochure developed for as low as $5 if you don’t already have one.
Make sure your real estate brochures provide crucial information regarding the property. Estimating utility bills, property taxes, and homeowner association (HOA) fees, as well as analyzing seller disclosures, neighborhood features, and purchase agreements, may all be beneficial to buyers and potentially speed up the process.
To produce professional brochures and printed materials, use our free open house flyer designs or utilize a tool like Canva or ProspectsPLUS! ProspectsPLUS! features hundreds of real estate collateral templates, so filling up the details and advertising your property is a breeze. When it comes to following up with open house visitors, you can even automate mailings.
4. Advertise Online & Off for Maximum Exposure
(Image courtesy of Signs on the Cheap)
You can’t just post the date and time of your open house in one location and expect a steady stream of eligible buyers to show up. Successful real estate agents understand the need of disseminating information about their events via every available channel, including both online and offline promotion.
Open house events may be advertised in a variety of places, including:
- The multiple listing service (MLS)
- Putting up open house posters all around the neighborhood
- Sharing event posts on social media in the form of posts, articles, photographs, and videos
- Local neighborhood Facebook groups.
- Adding content to your real estate website
- Using a single-property website or a real estate landing page to share event information
- In your Zillow listing, promote the open house.
The open house information is immediately supplied to sites like Realtor.com and Zillow after it is registered into the MLS. Join as a Zillow Premier Agent, however, to become the property’s sole agent and optimize each listing’s lead generating potential. Add your open house dates and hours to your Zillow listing to market it to thousands of active buyers who may be searching for a property exactly like yours.
An example of a Facebook advertisement (Source: Real Geeks)
Real Geeks is a great alternative if you want to advertise your open house on social media but don’t have a lot of expertise in setting up and running social media advertisements. They provide marketing assistance and have a built-in Facebook ad tool that allows you to quickly create and post efficient real estate advertising on Facebook.
4 Things to Do the Day of & at the Open House
There are just a few items to check off and set up on the day of the open house with a sound plan and an open house checklist to follow, but each one is crucial. On the day of the open house, you should follow these four steps:
6. Finishing Touches
Arrive early on the day of the open house to drop down the refreshments you’ll be serving. After that, park far enough away from the gate to allow for maximum visitor parking and take a stroll about the property. Even little things might detract from an otherwise appealing room.
Keep an eye on the pathway to ensure it is safe and easy to use. Set the thermostat at a suitable temperature and fix any little problems you see throughout the house, such as toilet seats left up, drawers half-open, light bulbs out, or rubbish in trash cans. Turn on all of the lights, burn a fragrant candle, and highlight the home’s greatest attributes, such as spaces with plenty of natural light.
Set up food and drinks in the kitchen, and consider arranging the table to demonstrate that the property is suitable for hosting. Finally, have your open house sign-in sheet ready and arrange your fliers, brochures, and business cards at the entry or in a prominent spot, such as the kitchen counter.
6. Bring Buyers Into Contact With Their 5 Senses
Even though some purchasers are unaware of it, purchasing a house is a highly emotional choice. Appeal to all five senses of prospective buyers when preparing your open house. This is a fantastic method to help them get a favorable image of the house—and of you. Here are some suggestions for appealing to the five senses of the buyer:
Sight
Most purchasers’ initial encounter with a house is via sight. What will they notice before they enter, and what will a prospective customers see first when they come through the door? A welcome image is one that is tidy, pleasant, lovely, and peaceful. Make sure the house is immaculate. Arrive early enough to clean up any messes that the seller may have missed, and bring flowers, candles, and décor to complement the home’s decor. Pillows should be plumped and comfort materials like throws should be arranged.
Sound
Thinking ahead of possible difficulties, such as ambient noise, should be on your open house checklist. Even if the inside is stunning, traffic just outside the door or a puppy barking across the street may cause prospective buyers to reconsider their purchase. Soft, calming (yet lively) music builds the mood and helps hide background disturbances such as automobile horns or a dog barking. You don’t want to deceive anybody, but you do want to make a positive first impression.
Smell
A residence should not have any overpowering odors, even if they are “good.” If the house has an odor that won’t appeal to purchasers, let your customers know about it while being cautious not to insult them. Collaborate to attempt to resolve the problem ahead of time.
Using air fresheners has the unintended consequence of making people question if anything is being hidden. Use scented candles if you like, but don’t attempt to smell every space. You may also create a friendly atmosphere by preparing cookies to offer later. Make any additional odors modest, as though they’re a natural extension of how it feels to dwell in the house.
Place white vinegar in small bowls and conceal them under furniture or under a sofa to mask a harsh stench like stale cigarettes. Just remember to take them down when you’re done.
Taste
Positive sentiments impact people’s perceptions of the house when they are made to feel welcome. Offer goodies to prospective buyers as they visit a house to improve their first impressions. Even better if you can provide baked goods from a neighboring bakery to support a local company. To prevent possible complications, try to provide something (or have alternatives) that is free of common allergies like nuts, and properly mark beverages.
Touch
Any HGTV program will show you how often people touch surfaces and fixtures while appraising a home. It’s a natural inclination for buyers to have, so make sure all surfaces are clean and clutter-free. Disinfecting wipes should be kept on hand to ensure that surfaces remain clean and germ-free during the event.
It’s also critical to correctly set the thermostat. Having a home that seems “drafty” or “stuffy” might lead prospective buyers to assume the property isn’t right for them or that there are problems with the HVAC system, insulation, windows, or siding.
It’s crucial to explain how things feel to the touch if you’re conducting a virtual open house. Consider the smoothness of granite, the solidity of a door closing, or the grain of wood cabinets.
7. Request that everyone sign in when they arrive.
The main purpose of an open house is to attract prospective buyers and get competitive bids on the property. It is, however, a tremendous chance for you to garner more possible buyer and seller leads. That’s why it’s critical to have a sign-in sheet ready to go before guests come, as well as a system in place to collect their contact information.
You may print a sign-in sheet using our open house sign-in sheet template or use a digital sign-in solution like Spacio. Spacio offers you a digital sign-in form, as well as an automated follow-up system and CRM connectors, all of which save you time and effort. Spacio is available to test for free right now.
Spacio’s user interface
8. Interact with each and every visitor
Because the goal of a successful open house is to create leads for the sale of the property and your real estate firm, be deliberate in how you connect with guests. As guests come, make sure you’re in the greatest location in the house to meet them and start a discussion.
Consider the open house as a chance to show off not just the property for sale, but also your real estate agent talents. You want to get offers on the house, but you also want to develop your company by generating more possible buyer and seller leads. Put your phone aside during the open house so that you are entirely ready for discussion and inquiries.
While directing visitors to the sign-in page is crucial, don’t create the idea that your primary objective is to collect contact information. Instead, display your business cards and pamphlets prominently and distribute them once you’ve established a connection.
Check in with visitors one final time as they leave to see if they have any questions and to get honest feedback. Receiving comments on the property is a crucial component of organizing a successful open house since it allows you to measure prospective buyers’ perspectives. Furthermore, if the open house does not result in any offers, the input you get might help you better prepare the property for the next open house or showing opportunity.
Make a note of any features that seem to be of widespread agreement or typical concerns that tend to occur, such as unclear property borders or a pricing point that is set a little too high. This is crucial information to relay to the seller, and if the home doesn’t sell right away, you may use it to make adjustments to help the property sell quicker.
Things to Do After the Open House
As soon as your open house is over, some of the most crucial labor starts. You’ll boost your chances of obtaining bids on the home, get new leads, and leave a great impression on the seller if you do a few basic but critical open house follow-up chores.
9. Tidy Up
Take one more tour around the property after the open house guests have departed. Gather any snacks, décor items, marketing materials, and signage you brought, and sanitize any locations that need it with a disinfectant wipe. Take any garbage from the open house with you and clean any dishes. Before putting these objects away, wash them if you’re setting the table. Having a tidy house when the sellers return reduces their tension and helps you seem more professional.
10. Brief Sellers
Call the sellers after you’ve finished and left your open house to give them an update on the event. Examine the comments you received from visitors and talk about any suggestions for improvement. Even more crucial, communicate to the sellers about any prospective offers (or anticipated bids) and your plans for following up with interested parties.
11. Use a CRM to send follow-up emails
As soon as feasible, contact every guest from the open house. A simple email stating that you appreciated meeting them and that you are ready to answer any questions will help new leads get in touch with you. Even if you don’t get a response straight soon, you’ll give them the idea that you’re interested in their opinion and the home buying or selling process.
Pipedrive is a pipeline interface program (Source: Crowd Reviews)
Using a real estate CRM to collect, monitor, and automatically follow up with leads is the best method to prevent losing out on new leads. You can use Pipedrive to construct a visual pipeline to keep track of each of your leads and send follow-up emails to open house attendees. Use our open house follow-up email template to swiftly and effectively nurture new prospects.
Conclusion
An open house that is a success highlights both the home and the quality of service you give as a real estate agent. Every individual who comes through the door or watches an open house on livestream is a possible new customer, and you should use each event as an audition in order to acquire more listings.
You can also add things to tailor the checklist for your procedure. Using an open house checklist may help you nail down the specifics for successful events and develop a recurrent pattern of professionalism. A successful open house generates increased interest in your listings, demonstrating your ability to sell the properties you represent and enticing new customers for future work.
