I have a new listing and I want to hold one initial open to help get the ball rolling.

I'm planning on this Sunday and typically most realtors seem to hold thier opens from 2 to 4pm.

Thoughts?

I would think 11 am to 2 pm would catch people before they get started into their day?

Thanks!

This can be very different from market to market, I know in mine early morning (9-11am) and late afternoon (4-7pm) are the best times, but obviously that's because of the weather and behavioral patterns (when people are starting their days, when people are going to dinner/watch the sunset). See what other top-producers in your area are doing and try to emulate their recipe for success.

That's a tough one. I think Saturdays are best b/c people are running around and think, "hey, let's stop over to the open house on our way to (whereever)." Perhaps it's just me, but anyone who is planning on viewing multiple open houses all day - they certainly aren't serious at that moment - don't expect to catch a buyer for your listing; but, the point of the open house for you is to catch a buyer for another listing.

Sunday - I used to work a "real" job and Sundays were used for family and getting ready for the work week.

That's my view on it.

See when your competitors are holding them.

Saturdays 10-2. Sundays are usually slow for us.

Why does it have to be 2 hours? If you advertise it is open from 1:00 to 1:30 if people really want to view it they will. It creates a sense of urgency and people are curious why it is only 30 minutes long. And you can have a few opens in one afternoon. The only people you will miss are the tire-kickers.

....I like that idea

Exactly!

When I have a lot of listings and need to hold a bunch open- I've done 1.5 hour opens through out day- I don't know if I have adult ADD- ok, I most likely do, but the shorter open houses and going on to the next one- broke it all up and they were easier to do.. I also like doing the "twilight" open houses- trying to catch people 6-730 depending on area/etc.
Those go by quickly for me-

I would have thought that being from 6-7pm on a Saturday evening in the summer would have attracted at least a few more neighbors - one kept staring over from directly across the street - I was upstairs with the windows open and hollered "come on over" but, I think that might have scared the guy (probably thought the house was haunted!). The people right beside it, they pulled into their driveway but didn't come over. The neighbor on the other side was sitting on her deck reading (out of sight) and didn't come over.

I'm the curious, nosey, what's going on type of person so I would have been RIGHT over - but not these guys - even with a big butt yellow open house sign stuck in the yard!

my builder client wants longer opens because that's what the competition is doing. most of our attendees don't come based on adverts but based on signage. Since we are not allowed to put signs up early in most of our areas here, we are pretty limited.

I'd have to agree that signage is key and that it is not only about having the open house but many realtors use it to get their name out in the community w/ their signs. I actually saw, for the first time, 2 major competition realtors in the area both advertising on opposing corners of a street intersection not with just signs but with big large signs that real people are holding and moving around trying to drive traffic...looked a bit crazy because they were trying to push them in different directions lol.

But to answer the initial question - it really depends on your market. For me, I've found I get most traffic around 1-3pm.

Here in Minnesota, we do like having open houses on Saturday and Sunday, 12-2 or 2:30-4:30 PM. Our team has found that we get the most amount of traffic on our MLS listings by doing them on Sundays. Also, evenings during the week can be a nice.

Holding that condo, home or townhome open for a 5:30-7:30 PM can work well. Cheers!

Even more than the market, I think it depends on the neighborhood, location and local events.

I did one on Election Day 2 years ago. The open house wasn't too far from one of the poling places and I basically just put my signs from across the exit from the parking lot to my listing. I had 4 people on a Tuesday afternoon!

One of the agents in my office has a listing in a small town that doesn't have mail delivery, so most of the town goes to the post office on Saturday between 9 and noon to get their mail. I think someone is doing an open house there tomorrow from, you guessed it, 9 to noon. Curious to see how it turns out.

I'm by the shore and have heard that a couple of agents have held open houses Friday nights in the summer for listings right off of some of the main roads.