Column: Does an open house make sense?

Your house is on the market, you've cleaned and tidied, the photos look great, you are anxiously awaiting a slew of showing requests... And nothing happens. You see the highlight reel of other people's lives on social media showing open houses where they had 20 people and six offers and wonder "why is my agent not scheduling an open house for me?" I cannot stress enough how local real estate is. What works in one market doesn't necessarily translate to another market. I know many agents in large markets that almost exclusively utilize open houses to sell a listing that is new to the market. It's a great way for them to consolidate showings and get competition that benefits their sellers. However, in the North Country, buyers react differently. A successful open house is 2-3 people stopping by and an open house (almost) never results in an offer, let alone multiple offers. Why is this? That's a fantastic question and I don't know for certain. But what I've witnessed over the last 11 years is that buyers in our market prefer to have a private showing. They want to have time with their own agent to walk around and get a good sense of the property without the listing agent or other buyers there. Buyers that are serious in our market make an appointment for a private showing. Who shows up to our open houses? Often neighbors, sometimes it's well-meaning because they want to support the owner and tell their friends about the property or sometimes it's because they're nosey and curious about the parts of your house they've never seen. Often, other homeowners in the area that are considering selling will stop by to meet the agent and discuss the market. They use the open house as a low-pressure way to interview the agent. Sometimes buyers' agents will stop by in order to preview it for a buyer they are working with to see if it's good fit and then they'll schedule a private showing with their buyer. Or because they have listings in the same area and want to see the competition. Or maybe they're trying to recruit the agent hosting the open house. And occasionally a buyer may stop by. Often someone who is just getting started and isn't working with an agent yet. Someone that is trying to get a sense of the market. So if open houses rarely result in bringing in serious buyers, why do I still sometimes host them? There are a few reasons that I would still host an open house in the North Country. First, when sellers feel like we've exhausted everything we can do to promote the house, it's another tool in our tool box. With an open house comes advertising. As we market the open house, it refreshes it in buyers' minds and brings more attention to it. Also, if the house is in a walkable neighborhood or has a special feature, like lake front people are more likely to attend. Ultimately, I don't think an open house will get your listing sold, but it certainly won't hurt and it is one of many ways that we can promote your listing to potential buyers and buyers' agents. -Kira Witherwax is a licensed associate real estate broker and member of the National & NYS Association of Realtors®. She is also past president of the Clinton County Board of Realtors®

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Column: Does an open house make sense?

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