Hosting an open house is your opportunity to shine a spotlight on your home, but it also means preparing for the event. There's more that goes into hosting an open house than merely making sure the home looks its best. Certainly, that's one part of it, but there's much more to consider. How you promote your open house is going to make a big difference in the event's success.
Create a Bigger Event
It's sometimes easy to miss an open house, when it's deep in a residential neighborhood, which is why marketing is so important. One of the best ways to draw attention to your open house is to plan a big "neighborhood open house" event. If you coordinate your open house with a real estate agent or other home sellers in the neighborhood, you can draw in more interested homebuyers.
Take Advantage of Community Events
If your city or neighborhood is planning an event, you can plan your open house to coincide with those events. The city will present itself in the best possible light, which may attract out of town homebuyers, but, more importantly, the big crowds mean more traffic will be directed to your open house.
Invite the Neighbors
Depending on your relationship with them, this may require you to take some negotiation training previous to the open house, but many real estate agents recommend inviting the neighbors. They'll be eager to tempt friends and relatives to come along, especially those in the market for a new home. Your neighbors will welcome the chance to "sell" the home to the people they know to make the neighborhood more welcoming for them. This will work to your advantage.
Spread the News Online
The digital revolution has made every investment and business venture into a global affair. By sharing the news of your open house on your online home listings and on your social media accounts, you can attract homebuyers from far and wide. People spend more time online than they do thumbing through the local newspapers. This means failing to post news of your open house online could cost you more than you realize. Best of all, social media posts are free and, if you include the right hashtags, there's no limit to the number of interested homebuyers you might reach.
Old Fashioned Advertising Still Works
Additionally, you shouldn't abandon more traditional forms of advertising, because they do still work. Change your "for sale" sign to an "open house" sign to attract neighbors and others driving through the neighborhood. You can also have flyers or door hangers printed up and leave them at homes in other neighborhoods to help spread the word. The idea is to make sure you get the word out to as many people as possible.
Be a Gracious Host
Once you get people to show up, you'll want to turn your attention to the actual event. You'll want to greet your guests at the door and lock the door after each new arrival. This ensures you get to meet each guest and also works as a safety measure, because it ensures you'll be able to account for every individual who enters the home. As you greet them, introduce yourself and hand them information on the property. If there are any special features of the home, point them out at this time and suggest paying special attention to these areas, as they tour the home.
Make Yourself Available to Guests
While you don't want to seem like you're stalking your guests, you do want to be available to them. Before you approach them, give your guests the time and freedom to tour the home on their own. Later, you can approach them and ask if they have any questions. In addition to providing more information, this will give you the opportunity to learn what they like or dislike about the property.
Open houses succeed best when the home is new to the market, or the price has been reduced, but that doesn't mean your open house will be less effective. If you take the time to market the event and concentrate on being an attentive yet courteous host, there's no reason you can't expect a strong turnout. By presenting a well-maintained home and making the effort to help your guests feel welcome, your open house may bring in more than a few offers.
