Picture this……You’re going for a Sunday drive on a sunny day (remember the sun? Haha!), the warmth on your face and the wind in your hair. As you cruise through the neighborhood you see signs in the front yard of listed homes advertising “Open House”. You pull up to the curb and brightly colored balloons wave playfully in the breeze, the smell of freshly baked cookies caresses your nostrils, tantalizing you, inviting you to come inside.
To some, popping in and out of Open Houses on a Sunday afternoon was a recreational activity. Whatever the reason, whether it be neighbors coming over to feed their curiosity, buyers earnestly seeking their next dream home or dreamers just getting ideas, it was the thing to do. So why don’t we see this slice of the “American Dream” pie anymore?
We now live in a microwave society. We live by the motto of “faster is better”, and the more we can do at home on the couch with our laptops warming our pajama bottoms, the better. But is it really better? In a world where online shopping is killing our local economies, and we have that lovely vampire complexion because technology has sucked us from the light of day, I want to talk about why this blast from the past idea of an open house is still so important.
Customer Service: Real Estate is a customer service based business. Sure there is a lot we can do online now, even 90% of our paperwork. But it’s a lot easier to provide a positive, memorable experience to the customer if we actually interact with them out from behind our computer screens. This benefits both the buyer and the seller. In my experience so far when I approach one of my sellers about doing an open house, they are usually thrilled. What used to be so commonplace has now become a rarity, and I find that sellers still really appreciate agents going the extra mile to provide this service. There is a lot of work and time involved if you do it right, and it makes the seller feel the sense of importance that they should feel being our beloved client. When serving a client, our goal should be to always do what is best for them. Having an open house, especially in an occupied home, makes the best use of the seller’s time. This way, they get multiple showings withing a 2-3 hour span and only have to leave the house once. It can sometimes be a hassle for a seller to have to leave for showings several times throughout a week, so hosting an open house can help relieve some of the burden. Buyers also benefit from Open Houses. Many buyers who are just beginning their search and maybe haven’t worked with an agent before could be a little nervous about making the call to scheduile a showing. An open house provides buyers a pressure free way to see homes they’ve been curious about. It’s also a good way for them to be able to just “window shop” and learn more about their own likes and dislikes before they really get serious about looking. As the agent, putting on a friendly face and making buyers feel comfortable and at ease is a great way to gain future clients. I recently did an open house just this past Sunday. Many of the buyers that perused the property were excited to see an open house at all, and commented that “this just doesn’t happen much anymore but we’re glad you’re doing it”. I view it as truly a service to the community.
What is a picture worth? In this business it didn’t take long for me to realize that (just like your facebook or dating profile photo) pictures can be deceiving. You may see photos of a home that looks like the Taj Mahal, but when you arrive you find the Leaning Tower of Pisa. On the flip side, I’ve seen photos that make you think you’re looking at the hunting cabin of a back woods mountain man, but when you get there you let out a sigh of relief so big it would make Dorothy scream “Aunty Em it’s a twister!” Listen, I know most of us have smart phones with their fancy shmancy cameras, but unless you’re a professional photographer, it’s still hard to take good photos of the inside of a house when your practically standing on your head in the corner, trying to get all of the room in the shot. And we wont even talk about lighting issues. I promise, we do the best we can, but an Open House can give buyers again, a pressure free opportunity, to see what a house really looks like.
Education. As an agent hosting an open house, we should be prepared to answer a whole host of questions. Many times people will come to an open house, not to see that particular house, but with hopes of talking with an agent face to face to gain knowledge about how to start the home buying or selling process. In fact, I had a couple come to my most recent open house for exactly that reason. They want to sell their home in the spring and wanted to take that opportunity to speak with an agent in person about where they needed to begin. I also had what will be a first time home buyer who was unsure the best way to go about things. We must consider Open Houses to be the community classroom where we are given the opportunity to share our vast wealth of knowledge and resources to help make people’s dreams come true.
Exposure. Last but certainly not least on my list of importance for today is Exposure. And no I’m not talking about the indecent kind that gets you picked up by the local authorities. I’m talking about the words every seller loves to hear FREE ADVERTISING. I cannot speak for other companies, but with my particular company, when we host an open house we submit an ad to our local newspaper that will run a few days before. And yes, people do in fact still read the paper. This of course is at no cost to the seller. So their home gets featured in print for thousands of eyes to see, attracting attention like a box of donuts in a flock of seagulls. Even if people viewing the ad or even coming to the Open House aren’t in the market to buy, I guarantee they don’t live on a deserted island. It’s human nature to share way too much of our lives with people we barely know, so you better believe they’ll spread the word.
In closing I’d like to say this. Let’s take a step back from this fast paced, impersonal life where our followers are our “best friends” and our best friends don’t have time to follow us. Let’s step back to the days when shaking hands and rubbing elbows with other human beings really meant something. There’s something special about the human connection, and as long as I’m in this business, I’ll strive to make it as personal as possible to create that feeling of importance that my clients deserve. God Bless and have a great week!
Inside the Agent mind 