Some of the Pros, Cons and Tips About Open Houses

Realtors are candid in their admission that fewer than 20% of homes sell directly through an open house.

Does that mean you should decline the opportunity to have an open house at your property? Not necessarily, the experts say.

“An open house is like any other form of advertising. It’s exposure, the way newspaper and magazine ads are exposure,” said Irwin I. Engler, a Prudential Realty broker-associate.

Of every 10 people who visit an open house, only two or three are truly serious buyers, estimated Rock G. Argabright, a broker-associate for the Realty Executive chain. The rest are looky-loos: neighbors or others who happen to meander into the property out of curiosity in search of decorating ideas.

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Even so, casual lookers who like a home may spread the word to serious prospects they know, whether they be friends, relatives or co-workers, Argabright said. “Neighbors can be a real plus. A lot of times neighbors who live around your home will know others who want to live in the same area,” he said.

Another positive factor of open houses is that they can yield valuable feedback on how your place looks to others. This could be especially important if your home has had few showings or is in a remote location.

Also, an open house could be a good idea for the owner of a odd-duck property that seems unusual on the outside but shows well on the interior, said Prudential’s Engler.

For instance, passersby could be curious enough about a ranch-style house with a two-story gabled roof to take the time to go inside, Engler said. And one of the lookers could happen to be the home shopper who relishes owning just such an “odd duck” property.

Like a blind date that turns to romance, a rare match can occur at an open house. Said Engler: “It just takes one buyer to sell a house.”

The owners of vacant properties can benefit in several ways from an open house. The presence of a friendly agent can make an empty house seem more inviting, especially if the agent offers visitors a refreshing fruit drink, coffee or a cinnamon roll from the oven.

Furthermore, having an agent on duty will sometimes help you discover a problem with the house that could otherwise go undetected for days, Argabright said.

“Maybe there was a storm last night and the roof developed a leak,” he said. Or the agent will discover that the air-conditioning system rumbles loudly when turned on.

Is it wise for the owners of every sort of property to have an open house? Not necessarily.

The sellers of homes that show poorly, because of ill repair or other factors, shouldn’t agree to an open house, Engler said. Unless and until they can improve the house, they should rely solely on appointments by prospects who can be prepared by their agents for the shock of what they’re about to see, he said. (A house in ill repair can still sell if it’s priced at a discount.)

The home of heavy smokers is a tough one to make appealing at an open house, or at any other type of showing, for that matter.

“We’re becoming a smokeless society. Even smokers tend to buy the homes of nonsmokers,” Argabright said.

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Remember that you’re under no obligation to hold an open house simply because your agent is encouraging you to do so, Argabright said. An open house is just one of many arrows in the agent’s marketing quiver, he said.

In fact, the biggest beneficiary of an open house at your home could be the agent, who may well encounter customers more suited to the purchase of another property rather than yours, Argabright said.

Are you contemplating an open house? If so, these tips could be of value:

* Go to new model homes for cues on “staging” your property.

Model homes often look more like movie sets than places where people live on an everyday basis, and that’s appealing to prospects, said B.J. Kisker, an agent for Russ Lyon Realty, an independent chain.

Model homes are airy and bright, with lights on and window coverings open. They’re sparkling clean and free of clutter, Kisker said.

Argabright suggests you remove any item from a kitchen counter top that isn’t used on a weekly basis, such as a waffle-maker or bread-maker. Clear counter tops, which make a kitchen look more spacious, are a given at model homes.

He also recommends you remove two-thirds of the family photos on your walls.

“You’re selling the house, not the family,” he said.

* Enhance your chances of a sale through timing.

Sunday afternoon is the time to catch customers at their most relaxed, Argabright said.

But limiting the hours of your open house to the 2-to-4 p.m. range could cost you your heaviest flow of foot traffic, he cautioned.

Nine years in real estate have taught Argabright that most lookers will visit an open house around noon or 5 p.m., with a lull during the mid-afternoon siesta time.

* Leave during the open house.

The presence of a homeowner inevitably discourages most visitors from making forthright comments about a property, on anything ranging from its price to the foul smell of the kitty litter box.

Such valuable feedback will be picked up by your agent only if you’re away from the home, said Kisker.

“You’ve got to be nonexistent during the open house,” she said.

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Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.