It takes an average of 22 days for a house to sell, but various factors can affect that time. For example, a real estate open house has a lot to do with the time it takes to sell a home. It may also affect the price of the property, among other things.
But how do open houses work? Why would you bother to have an open house in the first place and is it worth it? How can you know if an open house is the right option for you?
Keep reading and learn more about open houses and why some people have them while some don’t.
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What you need to know about open houses
How does an open house work, you might ask? Having an open house isn’t all that different from selling your house in an ordinary fashion. The main difference is that an open house involves potential buyers visiting the house in person.
This differs from ordinary home listings because most ordinary listings allow potential buyers to only view the house through photos or videos online. However, an open house allows for a variety of people to walk through the listed house at a specific time. In most cases, the home seller does not set up the open house.
Rather, the seller’s real estate agent is in charge of the open house and making sure that everything is set up. There are many open house tips to follow, but the most important is making sure that the house looks great before any potential buyers arrive.
Of course, the house will only be able to look a certain way because the home seller will still likely be living in the house at the time.
While a real estate agent usually takes care of setting up an open house, the home seller may also be in charge of this duty. This usually happens in the case of selling a home by the owner. You can also do this when working with a service that will help you sell your home.
The details
Whatever the case, the point is to allow potential homebuyers into the house so they can see whether they might like the house to live in. Open houses are not as popular as they used to be. They used to be more popular during the economic depression of 2008.
This is because open houses can help a house sell particularly fast, especially if you have many different people visiting your home. Open houses still happen today, of course, but they are less common. Even so, they still offer many important benefits to both the potential buyers and the seller of the home involved.
But how does an open house work and what should you expect when you have one? After all, you will still likely be living in your home when you have an open house, so what should you do to make sure that your house is prepared?
How does a real estate open house work?
If you read any open house guide, you will find that the first step of any open house is to set up a time for potential buyers to visit. Your real estate agent will help you set up the best time, but if you don’t have one, you can set up the time yourself or work with a home selling service to help you. You will need to think of what day to hold the open house.
Weekends are by far the most popular time for open houses. This is because you will receive more potential buyers due to the fact that work schedules will not get in the way of people visiting your house. Setting up the time is also important.
Mid-day is a very good time to have an open house. By that time, most people are available to travel to see a house for sale. This is in contrast to the mornings or evenings when people may have other plans.
Of course, you can always experiment with different days and times to have open houses. You may even decide to have several open houses. If you really want to sell your house as fast as possible, several open houses may be a good idea.
After all, it will give a variety of people a chance to see your house and decide whether they like it. This is because seeing a home in person is very important. Seeing a home through pictures and videos may make it seem very nice, but some potential buyers may not like what they see once they visit in person (or they may like what they see very much).
What you need to know
After deciding on a time and day for your open house, you will need to make sure you advertise your open house. If you don’t make it known to a large group of people that you’re having an open house, then you shouldn’t be surprised when no one shows up. For example, online advertisements are very popular and effective for open houses.
Most people use the internet, so people interested in buying a house will surely come across these online ads for your open house. Besides relying on online ads alone, advertising the open house on social media is also a very good idea. After all, there are millions of people who use social media on a regular basis.
While you won’t have millions of people visiting your house, social media can certainly make sure you have a decent group of people coming to view your home for sale. In some cases, flyers may also be useful. Placing them in areas around your neighborhood may pique the interest of those in the local area.
However, physical advertisements won’t be able to get much farther than your local area, so keep that in mind if you plan on using flyers or other physical advertisements.
How to prepare for an open house
As mentioned before, advertising and setting up a time to have the open house are both very important options for preparing for the open house. However, they are not the only options. After all, you will need to make sure that your house looks as nice as possible when people come to visit.
If your house looks dirty or cluttered, it will not be very appealing to those coming to the open house. Of course, while your furniture will not come with the house, it can be difficult for potential buyers to visualize what the house might look like when it is stuffed with furniture and other objects.
For that reason, when you prepare your home, you will want to make sure that it is as sleek and streamlined as possible.
Since you are preparing to sell your house and move, decluttering before you have the open house is a great idea. That way, you can get rid of whatever you don’t need and whatever you don’t want to take with you when you move out. Doing this will free up the house’s floor space and make it look much more open and attractive to those who come to visit.
You should also make sure that the house is clean. If you find that there are stains on the walls or floors, you should have those cleaned before throwing an open house. After all, if the majority of your house is in good shape but there are large stains or spots of dirt, the attractiveness of your property will plummet.
More preparation
Few people want to deal with stubborn stains and other aspects that might be hard to fix. But if you fix these problems beforehand, there shouldn’t be much for your potential buyers to worry about. Adding a few extra details for the buyers, in particular, can also be very helpful.
For example, setting out a tray of snacks or drinks can make potential buyers feel much more welcome in the home. It will also give them a better first impression and they may be more likely to buy the property if they already feel welcome in the house. Saying hello to potential buyers is also important.
If you have a real estate agent, the agent will likely do this for you. However, if you’re doing an open house on your own or with a property service, then you may have to do the greeting yourself. Again, the goal is to make sure that the buyers feel as welcome as possible.
If the buyers get a bad first impression of your home for whatever reason, you will find that it will be very difficult to sell your home.
You should also be prepared to answer any questions from potential buyers.
They may have questions about the age or condition of the house, the structure, and so on, so you should have your answers prepared so you can be as helpful as possible.
The benefits of having an open house
You might be wondering why you should bother to have an open house when you sell a home in the first place. After all, an open house requires more work on your part since you need to make your home look as presentable as possible for potential buyers. As it turns out, there are many benefits of having an open house.
The main benefit is that your home will sell much faster when you have an open house. This only makes sense because more people will have the chance to see your house in person and decide whether the house feels like a good fit. It is much harder for buyers to determine whether they like a house through pictures or videos alone.
Having an open house is also a great way to increase the visibility of the house, especially when you first put it up for sale. With that initial boost of visibility, there is also an increased chance that the property will sell faster. It will also make it easier for potential buyers to make a decision.
What to know
After all, an open house not only involves the potential buyer viewing the property itself but also gives the buyer a chance to look at the neighborhood and surroundings as well.
If your house is in a good neighborhood, you may have an even better chance of selling your house in a short period of time. An open house will also give your house the opportunity to show off certain features it may have.
For example, your house may have a new roof or a pool, or something else that might be attractive to potential homebuyers. Of course, an open house will also allow potential buyers to see certain defects your home may have. Of course, this is in the nature of an open house.
However, your house should preferably have more benefits than defects to attract potential buyers.
All about open houses
A real estate open house is not anything complicated. It involves allowing potential buyers into your house at a specific time so they can walk through the house and decide whether or not they would like to consider buying it. An open house is beneficial for several reasons such as increasing your home’s visibility and even shortening the time it’s on the market.
If you want to sell your home, an open house may be the answer. However, you can sell it even faster with a service like iBuyer.com. To learn more about the process, create an account by submitting your address here.
