Effective strategies for promoting an open house may have shifted over the last decade, but when done right, the results continue to greatly benefit the seller and the agent.
For agents, an open house is a great way to build and maintain a strong network. It can also help bring in future clients that have just started looking for a new home. Moreover, an open house is a fantastic way to show the community the types of listings you offer. Below are some helpful open house tips on how to have a successful open house. Preparing for an open house involves gaining adequate exposure within the community to drive high attendance.
Find the best day
You won the listing. Now it’s time to plan the open house! So, what’s the best day to host this event?
Realtors see attendance highest on the weekends—with industry experts divided between Saturday and Sunday. While families typically dedicate Sundays to family time, which may include a good house hunt, other buyers, including young couples, empty nesters, and singles, prefer to be out and about on Saturdays and enjoy Sundays in to binge on Netflix.
Another option would be to plan a rush hour/commuter open house. Try this on a Thursday between 4 pm and 7 pm, which will make it a twilight showing as well (bonus points if you purchased a twilight photo package to promote your listing).
There are two reasons why rush hour open houses may drive traffic to you—literally. For one, if the buyer is leaving work for the day, they can attend an open house and avoid traffic. A win-win. And second, as mentioned above, they will get to visit the home during twilight. This allows buyers to see the space in a different, cozier light. It’s nice to experience what a home feels like during the hours working families actually utilize it most.
Get digital
It’s time to focus on a third of the buying market. According to Realtor.com, millennials now make up 33% of home buyers and that stat isn’t decreasing anytime soon.
Another trend we’re seeing is that most buyers are searching for, and finding, their home online. In fact, 56% of buyers 36-years-old and younger found their homes on the internet in 2017. These stats alone should be enough of a reason to increase your online presence.
One way to gain exposure for your listing is to create an image heavy blog post highlighting all of the features that make the house marketable (you will want to make sure you use a real estate photography to capture your listing). This content is easily shareable across multiple channels and platforms.
Similar to a blog post, you can create a standalone landing page for the listing. This method leaves a big impact across platforms including email campaigns to realtors in your network. Denver Real Estate Broker Associate and REALTOR®, Ryan Borger, uses a number of social media channels to get the word out about upcoming open houses. “I utilize Facebook — both personal and business pages and Instagram specifically, as well as post on Realtor Association Facebook Pages, other real estate agent group Facebook pages, and more,” he told us.
Ryan also adds verbiage to the public remarks section of the MLS to advertise the open house, on Tuesdays leading up to the event. He inputs an open house time/date on the MLS open house section and adds the details to the main property description section in all caps. “It’s a guarantee it will be seen online,” he says.
Spread the word
Just because the digital age is in full swing doesn’t mean that traditional marketing methods are no longer effective!
Before your open house, promote it to the neighbors. More likely than not, they have friends or relatives looking for a new home.
“Several days prior to the open house, I often walk the neighborhood and pass out ‘Just Listed’ cards and personally invite neighbors to the weekend’s open house,” Ryan said. “I’ve worked with various owners who have done extensive remodeling projects before listing their homes for sale. For these especially, I love walking the neighborhood and inviting neighbors. They’ve usually been driving or walking by the property for weeks watching the project from afar, and are antsy to get inside and see the final product.”
Also try placing open house flyers or door hangers with beautiful images of your listing on bulletin boards around the community; in recreational centers, grocery stores, etc.
This exposure helps get the open house on the community’s radar. Sometimes you can get caught up in the latest marketing trends. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, consider going back to the basics. This can be door knocking, warm calling, and direct mail.
Signage
Putting signs within proximity of your open house will not only help lead attendees right to your front door but will establish that this is a big event for the neighborhood.
Ryan advises that just a couple of signs aren’t enough, though. Signs should be placed at multiple major intersections, in various directions, leading every few blocks straight to the home. “A sign is needed at every main turn from the busy street to the property, or people can get lost,” Ryan says. “Sometimes I put 15–20 directional signs and open house yard signs pointing drivers and walkers to the property.”
On top of that, Ryan suggests putting an “Open House Saturday 12–3” sign rider on top of the property’s ‘For Sale’ sign early in the week leading up to the event.
Have a standout brand
Establishing a brand around your real estate business creates awareness, builds credibility, and increases online exposure. It is important to have a strong online presence. Every real estate professional should have their own Facebook Business Page where they post industry news and links to their new listings.
You should also have a user-friendly website that you maintain regularly. This will help you rank on Google when buyers and sellers search for agents in their area.
Lastly, your listing images should look professional, high-quality, and consistent. Find a professional real estate photography company or a real estate photographer in your area that will consistently deliver beautiful real estate images of your listed properties.
To sum it up, it is important to prepare for an open house across different mediums from digital, to print, to word of mouth. Ryan leaves us with this, “Some things may sound obvious, but it takes a bit more work than one would think to get a big turnout.”
FAQ
There isn’t a set number of attendees that make an open house successful. Obviously, the more turnout you get, the more leads you have to work with. Whether that’s one or 25, you need to have a plan for following up to ensure you’re working every lead.
Saturday and Sunday are typically the best days for open houses.
If you plan a weekday open house, consider holding it from 4pm to 7pm. You’re likely to attract potential buyers who want to avoid rush hour or commuter traffic.
