One of the many methods used to sell your property is an open house. Now, this may sound good because it brings people through the doors to view your property. Depending on the number of people that come and the type of people that come, you may sell your house quickly. So the important thing to remember is trying to get the right people to view. The question really is should you hold an open house viewing or not? We will go through the pros and cons below to ascertain which may be better suited to your particular type of property.

Advantages

Well the obvious advantage is that people will get to view the property and see how many other people are interested in purchasing it, creating a sense of competition. It's also a great way to get things moving. People who live local to the property may be interested in purchasing the house for a family member, the open house will give them the opportunity to have a look around and let other family members know as well.

This is a great way for the potential buyers to ask questions, plus hear other people’s questions as well. There may be first time buyers who could be nervous to approach agents or not know what to ask, coming to an open house they will see what others are doing, looking for and the types of questions they are asking either the agent or themselves.

There is no pressure on the buyers to buy or to ask questions, they can just come in, have a look around, ask what they need to and leave. Plus there are no awkward moments either with the seller being there or the agent.

This is usually a great time for the agent or seller to introduce themselves and let people know who they are and what they can do for them. They can give advice on the different types of services they have and how they can help move projects forward.

If someone doesn’t have the time to come out at a specific time, then coming out during a time window would be better for them. So for example the open house can be between the hours of 12pm to 2pm.

Disadvantages

The negative side of having many people come to the open house is that you will get a lot of people that will be time wasters. You will get some that will just walk in as a result of the open house who are not really that interested in buying. Someone who books in a viewing is more likely to be a serious buyer.

According to many estate agents, houses very rarely sell during an open house, hence the reason why not so many agents host open houses. Plus the seller may not be happy having so many people in their house at the same time. If there is any damage, who would be responsible for it? Even worse, how would you find out who caused the damage?

If the house still has furniture in it or is empty, then there could be a security risk. Any would-be burglar can look around the house, garden to find a way in, see what they can take or even have a look into the neighbours garden to see what they have. It also gives an open door invitation to vandals.

It takes time and effort to arrange an open house. Getting the house ready for the viewing by clearing out the mess and arranging the fixtures and fittings etc is all time consuming. Along with this getting the message out to potential buyers to let them know of the open house takes a lot of creative effort. All this for a minimal chance of the house selling through this method.

Majority of the time an open house is more of an advertisement for the agent promoting your house. It's a time for them to promote their business and their service, the side effect is the house sale.

Conclusion

You need to think about the current housing market when selling your home. If the market is strong then you will sell your house, if the market is weak then it may take slightly longer. First check what the house prices are on your road or in your area and set your house price accordingly. You may even want to set the price slightly lower than the market rate for a quicker sale.

There are many methods an agent can employ to sell your house, if an agent regularly uses open houses to sell property then buyers may think there is a problem with the houses. In today's time with the advancement of technology there are so many ways to promote and advertise property for example social media, online agents, rightmove, zoopla on the market etc. There is always someone who needs a house to live, your house will sell.

If you want to talk to us about selling your property, we will be more than happy to discuss ways of moving the sale forward. No commission,no fees for the sale or advertising your property. If you would like to know more then please do get in touch.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of An Open House