I just got through commenting a real estate blog about how wasting half of your weekend cooped up in someone else's house is a waste of time. Thought I would share my experience..

It’s extremely hard to sell a home from a picture and a 25 word description, without being able to go inside the house. However, there is a way to “get inside” without having a agent throw open the doors and sit all Sunday long, waiting for that “lucky” prospects to walk in.

I believe if you can not qualify your leads ahead of time, then ‘open house’ tactics are a waste of time. But, if you can show prospects 90% of a home (inside and out), before they even drive down the road, you will close them at the showing of the home.


Why? Because you gave them all the information they needed ahead of time and when they see the home for themselves (and if it’s everything they hoped it would be) then you will close the deal.
My experience of driving all over town to find the perfect home was tiresome and discouraging, I wish I had more pictures and more information. PM me, and Ill send you a Real Estate Listings Tool and see if it makes sense.
Hope this saves people and gas.

It was unnecessary to continue after your opening thread topic. I am totally convinced that Open Houses are a Waste of Time and I am no newbie at this.

I believe the success of open houses relies heavily on the amount and type of traffic in your area. For instance, I am in a resort market with with high occupancy of nightly renters of condominiums. It's found here to be unlikely that you sell the property you are sitting open house, but it's a great way to meet buyers and sometimes even nosey sellers and make that all important face to face contact.

But I understand that in more metro areas, open houses get lost in the shuffle.

I turn 1/3 of the people that come through my open houses into clients. I don't believe that I have ever sold the home that was open strictly on the open house (besides models) but I have easily built relationships with people that came through that have turned into listings/buyers.

Wow, I took some buyers out today for the second time - they are seriously considering a nearly $400,000 house that I showed them the day after I met them at a "waste of time" open house. This is not the first time something like this has happened with my office. These people are serious buyers and someone else's "waste of time" can gladly become my new client.

Not necessarily. Believe it or not, many buyers I get are from open houses.

Number one thing you need to do an open house is have at least 15 signs out or as many as you can having barring sign ordinances and location.

1) You get free advertising.
2) The buyers that bring in their kids are the ones that you need to focus on.