Sellers ask me this question all the time—do open houses sell listings? Old school Realtors will always respond that open houses only benefit the open house hosts so they can find buyers, but my response is always, “I sell 30% of my listings through open houses!”
 
What has changed? First of all, buyers today look for homes themselves on multiple online sites, including HAR, Zillow, Realtor.com, etc.., and they need the convenience of visiting homes without the hassle of scheduling with an agent. Open Houses make it easy for a buyer to visit a home without scheduling an appointment.
 
Secondly, I look at an Open House as being open for business. If I am open, a buyer may walk in the door, but if I am closed, this may be a missed opportunity. As a listing agent, my job is to bring as many buyers to the house as possible to increase the odds of finding the right buyer.
 
The third and last reason that I am a huge proponent of open houses is that the old school method of attracting open house visitors is with an open house sign.  Before open houses were advertised online, visitors only came in from the signs, and they often knew nothing about the house or price before visiting. Today’s open house visitor has more than likely seen the price, photos, and size, and they decided to stop because they are already interested. Look for the orange Open House signs every weekend because Energy Realty agents love open houses!

By: Sherry Campbell