I recently had a client who was convinced the sole reason their house had not sold was there had not been enough open houses. Oh, and that the open houses that were held were only three to four hours long and not all day affairs.
There are a handful of agents in my office who maintain they've sold a house at every open house they've ever held. I was tempted to ignore this notion as preposterous until I thought about what wasn't being said. Maybe they really have sold a house at every open house - just not the house they were holding open.
An agent's first responsibility at an open house is to do everything they can to sell the home to anyone who visits. But once it's apparent this home isn't THE home for the buyers, agents often will shift gears and try to satisfy these prospective buyers' needs. Some agents are better than others at converting open house prospects into viable clients, but it does happen.
Thompson Realty in their East Valley blog highligted a Republic story quoting an agent involved in a mega-open house (multiple open houses held simultaneously) that there was high demand for another such event. Jay mentions that to his knowledge no contracts were written on the homes held open. And to me, logic dictates that if a substantial number of homes held open sold during the mega event, another open house wouldn't be necessary.
The National Association of REALTORS in its 2005 buyers' survey determined only seven percent of all homes on the market sold because of an open house or fliers out front combined. Yet sellers still want to see open houses, despite all evidence that it will not help.
My branch manager says when he sold real estate, he would tell sellers that if open houses sold homes they wouldn't need him. Just stick a sign in the yard and wait. Many sellers are taking that option even in our slower market, going it unrepresented as a For Sale By Owner. And many are waiting quite a long time for what they consider to be a fair offer to come along.
When I first started I sat multiple open houses - what else is there to do your first few months in real estate? But as the reality set in, along with an added five pounds from eating cookies at my own open houses when no visitors came through, I stopped the open houses. Better to cover the odds and work the angles that are more likely to bring a buyer then spend a few hours petting the sellers' cat for no clear reason.
(c) Jonathan Dalton, 2006 / Jonathan Dalton's Arizona Homes | 
