Ah, yes. The open house viewing opportunity. There are generally three different camps on this one. Some sellers feel that in order to sell their home, an open house will do the trick. Other sellers would much rather skip the idea. Then, there are those sellers who are seated firmly on the fence regarding open houses. The funny thing is, Realtors happen to reside in the same three camps. That’s because there happen to be several pros and cons to open houses. Let me explain.
The Pros
1 – Extra Exposure
Regardless of how your realtor is marketing your home for sale, one of the most effective ways to get immediate response from prospective buyers is through an open house. Questions can be answered on the spot and nothing beats being able to ‘tour’ the home at your own leisure. Online virtual tours are good but open houses are better.
2 – Reduces Pressure
An open house is basically a casual opportunity to see the inside and outside of a home without buyers feeling pressured to make an offer. There’s also no pressure on the Realtor to make a sale, although open houses can lead to the start of the buying process if someone finds the home to be the right fit for them.
3 – New Buyers
Realtors who host open houses can attract new buyers that may not be completely sure on how to start the buying process. Your open house ends up being an educational tool at this point. With the new knowledge the new buyers gain, they become more confident with shopping for property. Your home may be the one they buy.
Cons
1 – Lookie-Loos
Probably one of the biggest disadvantages to hosting an open house is that not all of the traffic it attracts will be interested buyers. Your open house is going to be a magnet for those just looking around with no intent on buying. This may even include a nosy neighbour or two using this opportunity to see what the inside of your house actually looks like and comparing it to theirs.
2 – Security
Open houses can attract criminals. That is, the ones that take the unsupervised tour to the extreme and plot a future break-in now that they know where all the expensive things are in your home. You can rest assured that I take every precaution necessary during an open house to keep your home secure and I always suggested hiding away any valuables before showings and open houses. However, the risk does exist.
3 – Unqualified Buyers
One of the other things that open houses tend to do is attract those who may really want to buy your home but in reality, are not able to. They may not qualify for a mortgage or some other financial hurdle eliminates them from the pool of prospective buyers.
Do You Need An Open House?
That really depends. If you are listing your home in the Niagara region, I can help you reach buyers. It may not always be with an open house and we can discuss that further when the time comes. For more information, call me today at 289-213-7031
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