OK, less than 3% of the buyers see the home for the first time at an open house. From my experience, less than 1% of the buyers would never have seen the home without the open house, since the other 2 % were there because their agent was holding an open house that day and gave them a list to go screen while the agent was busy or they were out on their own checking things and then called their agent to come see what they had found (and yes, I have sold oen at an open house, where she found it and then called her agent to come see it).

The majority of open houses are done to get new buyers for the agents. Buyers come in , it's not the right house for them. Agents cultivate them and try to pick them up as new clients.

I do do open houses to get the home exposure, but I don't stress them. I have done them for 1 hour, and I've done them for 4-5 hours when it was an open house where it was scheduled for 2 hours and the people just kept coming so I stayed open (didn't get any buyers for the house, but got more potential clients for me). (First open house is for the neighbors to see what is on the market in their area also - but they often have a friend who has always said I love where you live, if anything ever comes up there, let me know!! so we definately want to cultivate them)

Agent open houses on the other hand are ESSENTIAL - agents can have a direct impact on influencing which homes their clients go see and if they say I just saw this fabulous home that would be perfect for you, lets go see it....

I'm in St Louis, so this is local st louis info for you.

Just to clarify our post after reading Cindy's. We have never sold a home at the open house, we don't believe in dual agency, but the eventual buyers first look at the property has been through an open on the 3 occasions mentioned. Then they would come back later with their agent and make an offer.

Open houses are successful only in certain markets. For example, San Francisco buyers know that the open house is their best ticket into homes. In places like St. Louis, Nashville and Charlotte, an open house is a way for an agent to generate buyers for other homes and allow for the neighbors to see the house. Nationally, less than 0.04% of all homes are sold at open houses. If you don't mind holding your home open for people to come through and your agent is willing to conduct them, go for it. It doesn't hurt. However, statistics say, it just doesn't help.

The most important part of selling your home is pricing right and having it in the best condition for the price point. The most important promotion of the home is a strong web presence with impressive visuals, solid copy and transparent information. According to 2007, NAR stats, 82% of homebuyers are using the internet in their home search. In my opinion, forget the open house and strive for strong internet presence.

Open houses are a great way to get buyers through your home. You never know when the right person is going to walk through the door and fall in love with your home. Your neighbors will more than likely stop in and they are a great source of word of mouth advertising. It's worth the inconvience of having to be gone for a couple of hours!

I send out a list of open houses in the MLS to the buyers that I am working with each Friday. I've sold several homes to buyers that have seen them at an open house.

Once every 30 to 45 days works well for me and hold them open from 1 to 3

E,

Without a doubt, the most important aspect of selling a house is visibility. The more people that know about the property the better the chances of selling it.

Since an open house contributes to the visibility of a home, we feel it is important to do open houses. As a matter of fact, we have written contracts at open houses. We recommend doing them every 2 or 3 weeks.

Good luck,
The "Eckler Team"

I have NEVER sold a home through an open house....but it HAS been a great source for me and my team to pick up leads from proispective buyers and sellers. If your home is prioperly priced with a very well thought out online presence, you don't need the inconvenience of the open hous.

Personally, I think that open houses are very helpful in exposing the property to potential buyers when they are not with their agents. In the past year, we have had 3 properties sold to individuals that came through the open house, whether sent there by there agent, found on the internet, or following signs. That's enough proof for me.

As with most things in real estate, there are caveats. At the high end, you tend to get more "Lookey Lou's" who have always wanted to go inside a house like that, but that comes with the territory. We do our opens from 1-4 PM on Sunday, though 1-3 PM is fine, just don't make it too long. If you err on a side, make it too short... better to have several groups in the property at once, bumping into each other, which better creates a sense of desirability and urgency. If you have someone linger in the home for 30+ minutes and no one else comes in, it plants the seed of doubt in their mind.

Just our thoughts, hope they helped.

AJ Heidmann, ABR, CRS, e-PRO
Cell 703-474-1260 Fax 703-518-8314 Toll Free 877-727-3631
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Old Town Alexandria