Neighborhood Open Houses...Do they Work?

There are a lot of Realtors who do not beleive in open houses. Some do well with them and others do not have any luck at all. Personally, I find it a great way to advertise a home and get it additional exposure.

Recently, an idea came up to hold an open house with ALL the homes in a subdivison. We all marketed the open house and let everyone knwo that there were going to be a group open house. Maps were provided as well as listing sheets to the other homes open during that time. We all marketed it as an individual open house with mention to the other eight homes in the subdivsion.

The response was overwhelming. Our traffic to the homes was five times the amount I have had when I help the home open as the only one. The fanfare and banners and balloons with the multiple signage drew added attention to the neighborhood and brought in more people to view the homes.

Buyers today have numerous choices. The reality of it is, if they are going to look at one home in a subdivsion; they probably are going to look at the other ones that are comparable as well. So, why not give them the opportunity to do it all at the same time?

Open houses work if done properly...this is just another way to help our sellers get their home in front of as many possible buyers as we can. In this economy our goal as a listing agent is to get the home sold. The only way to get a house sold is to get it exposed to as many as possible home buyers......

Dave dicecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com

Looking For A Home? Visit Open Houses

In today's digital age it has become exceedingly easy for us to view multiple photos of a property and see virtual tours of homes we want to consider to buy. Technology has made us, the consumer a more informed purchaser.

In Real Estate you can view any variations from eight to unlimited amount of photos of a specific home...depending on where you are looking. Most agents today are using virtual tours to even give you a more detailed look at homes. But are you seeing the WHOLE home? Probably not. It would be almost impossible to give you a complete view of every corner of a home.

So, you have seen some homes online that you think are interesting but are not ready to deal with an agent yet...what do you do? Go visit open houses. There is so much you can learn about a house when you actually go inside of it. For one thing it will give you a sense of what the neighborhood is like. You may know the area the home is located in; but do you really know the neighborhood?

Another is that you will get to touch and feel and walk through the house....The photos may have given you an accurate description of the house but when you got in it you realized the rooms were to small or too large. Or you may not like the layout of the home.

I have even had some people that did not like the way the sun set on certain areas of the house during parts of the days. These are all variables that photos can not show you.


Now, some people will have an agent and have them drive around and show them homes....That is fine. That is part of our job. But for the ones of you that are in the beginning stages and are not ready to work with an agent yet; visit as many different open houses as you can. You will be amazed at the differences when you actually visit homes...you may see layouts you never thought of before as more conducive to your needs or designs you like or do not like...

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com