Do Open Houses Work?

Years back I had a good assistant, but there were constant spelling errors.  This person was a hard worker in addition to being a single parent of a little one. I wanted to see if there was a way to make it work. My assistant revealed that they had dyslexia. That explained a lot and I said you must use spell check. Things improved! That is until I looked at an open house postcard that had already been mailed. The postcard read, “please come to our open house from 12-3pm and see the beautiful, stained a**.”

I blew my socket and was aghast. How could this happen?  The customer is going to go nuts as the stained glass up this gorgeous stairway was a dramatic feature.   First, I had the daunting task of calling the Seller.  I said, we will be having a secondary open house the following week and some additional marketing.  They took it quite well and doubted anyone would read the inside copy. Maybe they were right. I wasn’t as worried now.  Perhaps, I was getting upset over nothing.

Sunday came and the first visitor arrived with postcard in hand with a big grin…….He said, “Hi Jeff, I’m here to see the stained a**.  Then another couple came. Same postcard in hand. “Beautiful home you got here.  I’m sure you’ll have someone who wants to look at that stained a**.” It didn’t stop!  They kept pouring in from the postcard. Like in the movie, The Producers, the Open House was a smashing hit!

So, back to the title of this Jeff Journal article, “Do Open Houses Work?”

Well, there are 2 types of Open Houses.  One is a broker’s open house and the other is for the public.  In South Florida, broker’s open houses don’t work that well unless the features of the house are fantastic and over the top.  With fab catering, drinks, classic cars, a broker’s open house can work.  If the house is ordinary though there is no saving it. I’ve tried every hot restaurant, $100 giveaways, and so on.  Basically, what you get are 4 very nice nearly-retired Realtors who haven’t done a deal in 5 years sitting together having a corned beef or turkey sandwich on your dining room table.

There is one exception and that’s a money machine. GL Homes once hired me as a consultant before they developed The Preserve in Bay Hill Estates. We looked at competition and then they showed me models and price points. They also wanted to sell quickly. I said you have one massive problem and that the Realtors won’t come to look at it because it’s too far away. They said how about if we gave gas cards? I laughed and said you need a carnival  atmosphere. I wanted a band, music, food and a money machine. Yes one of those crazy machines that you get that blows money everywhere. They actually took my advice and the Realtors came as it was party central.

A public open house though is a different story.

1. It’s extra advertising. Who wouldn’t want that? From thousands of other real estate portals that highlight it to hundreds of social media platforms that we internally put the event on, plus Echo’s Exclusive email blast that goes to a few hundred thousand potential buyers. The number of eyeballs on and calls to action are fantastic.

2. It quasi serves as a broker’s open house because the end buyer sees it and comes with their Realtor. Sometimes the other way around. Basically, it creates showings with other Realtors by making them aware, the end client aware, and making it easy to show. Usually right after the open house we get a few showings from Buyers who couldn’t make it and then come on Monday or Tuesday.

3. The nosy neighbors and looky-loos come. Sellers get so upset about this.  It should be the opposite though because Bertha the Busybody and Gary the Gossiper have big mouths and talk.  Jibber jabbing and spreading the word are part of the deal.  Think about why you moved here?  Did you know someone in the area?  Have any of your friends or relatives ever moved here and one of the reasons they heard about it was from you? I personally moved here because my folks were here. My Mom scouted homes on weekends for us before we came.  You need people to talk about what a great looking home you have.  Plus, once you move, they aren’t your neighbors anymore. You don’t even have to pay them for their motor mouth that benefited you with moolah.  So, let them circulate the rumors and don’t worry about them.  They are free labor in spreading the word and selling your house.

4. It’s giant negotiating leverage. Buyers have one fear.  It’s the fear of loss.  If there is an open house planned on Sunday and the buyer sees the house during the week, you bet they want the negotiation wrapped up and that open house cancelled.  Open houses create great leverage for the Seller for fear someone is going to take their home away from them.  If it’s an aggressive Realtor like we are and this blast is going to the world, there becomes a rush to get the deal done.

If signs are allowed, we plaster them all over the street and on the way to the house. Some clubs allow them with generic signs.  Condos sometimes allow them.  Wine and cheese parties are sometimes good loopholes I’ve done.

It’s important for us as representatives of your home to dress to the nines.  I used to get balloons every Sunday morning but now I just bought custom mylar balloons that stick to the window.  They don’t ever shrink and are easy to spot.

The house needs to look spectacular.  Fluff of the pillows, put all personal papers away.  Make it shine.  It’s SHOWTIME!

I’ve always believed in making cookies at open houses. Our cookie is actually not an ordinary cookie but it’s a smart cookie.  It’s the fresh smell that is critical.  It brings everyone back to childhood.  I don’t care how young or old you are, rich or poor, everyone loves a chocolate chip cookie. Our smart chocolate chip cookie is also a natural icebreaker for conversation and people open up a bit more and feel at home.  Hopefully their new home! The cookie is even one of our 57 Promises in our Home ECHOnomics Guarantee ).

Follow up with people who saw it should happen after the open house.  I always call everyone who attends on the way home to see if there were any questions that they thought of after they left.

A good active open house is exhausting. You’re basically on stage for 3 hours talking and showing the property to everyone.

If you want to know about my old assistant, we added a second proof checker and kept her on. But if you really are desperate for turnout, just turn the spell checker completely off.  You’ll definitely get a lot of traffic!

Jeff Lichtenstein, originally from Chicago, got his start in the home furnishings textile business where he traveled over 35 weeks a year selling fabrics. After the family business was sold, Jeff moved to Florida and became a real estate agent. Today he is the owner and broker of Echo Fine Properties, a luxury residential brokerage voted best brokerage of the year. Jeff manages a non-traditional model of real estate that mimics a traditional business model. Echo has 80 agents, an average of one million dollars per transaction and over 500 million in annual sales. Between traveling for work and annual family trips to national parks with his wife and 2 now adult children, Jeff has visited 49 states. He is also one of the few Chicago White Sox fans you’ll ever meet.  Some publications he has been quoted in.

Feel free to ask him a question directly at jeff@EchoFineProperties.com including a complementary  valuation of your home.