Open or Not Open...That is the question!

"Do you do open houses?"....."Do open houses work?".....

These are questions asked by almost every seller at a listing appointment.  The answers to these questions will vary depending on who you talk to!  It's widely debated amongst real estate professionals, and I've been on both sides of the argument.  Yes, I admit, I've flip-flopped.

When I first started out as a REALTOR® in 2003, I held open houses every Sunday, sometimes two or three of them!  My very first sale was a direct result of an open house, and several homes after that, so I was a firm believer in them for many years.

It wasn't until the market crashed in 2008-2010 that they became a "colossal waste of my time".  And by the way, that is a direct quote from yours truly that I posted on Facebook once, which of course was not well received by one of my sellers.  Lesson learned.


Here it is 2013 and I'm still hosting open houses almost every weekend.  Why?  Because it's just one of the many things I do to sell my listings.  It's not the #1 reason why homes sell, but it's ONE of the number of reasons why homes sell.

You might be surprised to know that some of the top selling REALTORS® in our area are still hosting open houses every Sunday.  It could just be a coincidence, I'll leave it up to you to decide.

In my next blog I will share why most agents say open houses do not work.  You never know, you may flip-flop too!