Open Houses Are Still Worth It, Practitioners Say

Despite a changing market, many real estate professionals say open houses are still a good way to showcase a home.

Open houses work just as well as they did a few years ago when the market was very competitive, says Trudy Severa, an associate with Long & Foster in Reston, Va.

"Anything you can do helps," says Severa. "It's a numbers game, and there is no way to know the residual effects [that an open house can have]."

Some practitioners have had success joining forces with others to produce a group tour. For instance, seven different practitioners recently held a neighborhood open house in Washington, D.C., where participants could view eight listings ranging in price from $500,000 to more than $1 million.

An open house can be an opportunity to talk to potential buyers who are interested but who might be unsure about the uncertain market, says Mario Rubio, a practitioner with Rubio Real Estate in Annandale,Va. He suggests having a loan officer/mortgage banker on hand at the event to answer questions.

Source: The Washington Times, Cary Lee Dailey (04/10/2009)

Weichert Open House Traffic is Up!

Weichert Open House traffic has been up this month as more people realize now is the time to buy. That is great news for all of us.

According to the National Association of Realtors, nearly half of all buyers visit an Open House during their home search, and a majority of them rate Open Houses as a useful information source. But, what if they can't find your Open House?

Putting out at least eight directional signs should increase Open House traffic fourfold. If there are long stretches of road with no turns, place extra signs so visitors know to keep going and are assured periodically that they haven't missed the house. And, keep in mind that buyers will be taking many different routes to get to the Open House, so you should place signs from all directions, not just along the route you take to get there.

All signs point to success,
Jim Weichert