Having a huge volume of hopeful buyers visiting your open house can seem like a far-off dream, but it is attainable! The buyers are certainly out there and wanting to purchase properties right now. Your home has been prepped, staged, and is listed. How can you attract more potential viewers to your open house, and make it stand out from the crowd of other homes listed in the market?
Enhance the Curb Appeal
Your house has one chance to make a lasting first impression, and the view from the driveway is it! If a potential buyer drives past and immediately is not intrigued, they keep driving. This means you want your landscaping to be freshened, and your home power washed. Think of it as a first date: everything must look nice to begin the process of wooing potential purchasers. Don’t forget to stage your front porch! Make sure that you also refresh the paint on the outside of your home if necessary. Do everything you can to make your home look the most appealing to passers-by.
Advertise on Social Media
You, or your agent, must be social media savvy to make sure your advertising is done properly. Having a notice in the newspaper isn’t going to cut it. Your major social media groups need to be covered. You want as many eyes as possible to see your listing, and that there’s an upcoming open house. If you have a local community page, or even church group or club page, or Facebook groups, list those as well. Don’t’ forget to use hashtags: ones such as #locationlocationlocation, #curbappeal, or even just #openhouse will get the attention of those looking for those search terms.
Use Signs and Flyers
However, don’t underestimate the impulsive buyer, who will be driving around on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Those searching to purchase homes already have their heads swivel when they pass “for sale” signs, and an added “open house” sign will help. They already have reason to be in the neighborhood, whether looking at another home or visiting a friend or family member. Perhaps they’ve been admiring the neighborhood already. That gives you an “in”, and knowing your open house is happening right then gives them a chance to stop for a few minutes and check it out.
Offer Food
Offering food at a gathering makes it feel like a party. You want your guests to feel as if they were individually invited. Having food offerings such as cookies or cinnamon rolls adds an added sensory bonus—cinnamon and vanilla in cookies and other baking creates a sensory memory that makes a house feel like a home. branded items for your real estate agency also come in handy. For example, you can use custom toothpicks to advertise your brand to those that come to the showing.
When Time is Important
Data shows that there are specific times that are more likely to have viewers stop by for an open house, and it’s critical to pay attention to that. If you live in a city, your best time is between eleven AM and three PM. This gives people the chance to peruse what listings are available and get to where you are located. But, in the suburbs, slightly later is more effective. Twelve to four is better for suburban areas. Perhaps this is because the suburbs are reveling in sleeping late on Saturday? Whatever it is, knowing the difference makes a difference for you.
Go Virtual
While in-person open houses are wonderful, having one during a pandemic is complicated. Having a virtual open house is a wonderful way to get around this complication! Make sure your pictures are accurate and beautiful, and ideally professionally done. You want your absolute best foot forward, especially in a virtual open house setting. This is a great time to show off additional features of your home, or special things about it. You can live stream your virtual open house on Facebook or YouTube as well!
Declutter and Stage
Since you want to be at your absolute when showing off your house, you need to do a decluttering and staging process. This doesn’t mean your stuff isn’t nice enough! Instead, your goal is to take away some of your personal touches, to allow the potential buyer to visualize themselves in the space. After all, you don’t want them to admire your home, you want them to admire the walls and space that could be their home. This means that all the bits and pieces of family life need to be tucked away elsewhere.
Deep Clean
If there’s anything you want to remember, it’s this: clean houses have better visits. This involves going through a deep cleaning process before photographing, listing, and having your open house. You want your baseboard, windowsills, floors, and even grout to be sparkling and lovely. Any household projects need to be finished and cleaned up. That cabinet door you’ve been meaning to repair for a year needs to be finished. If you have old water spots on the ceiling, this is the time to have that fixed and cleaned up. Potential buyers will notice! If it seems like too big of a job for you to do on your own, consider hiring a professional cleaning company to come and help you.
Unlike regular visitors to a home, potential buyers by necessity must look critically into every nook and cranny. They want to see virtual options, like how different styles of furniture would look in the home. Once you attract people to your open house, remember to follow up with them. Remember, most buyers won’t make a bid that day. Having their names and email addresses in your sign-in helps you follow up, see what they liked, and get those bids coming in the door!
Another great way to attract people to your open house is by having quality real estate photos. Schedule an appointment with us for a photoshoot by contacting us here!
