Should I Hold an Open House?
An open house can give buyers another opportunity to see your home, but it isn't something every seller has to do. When you list with Team Martin, we'll talk through the option with you and hold open houses when you'd like them to be part of your marketing plan.
One of the questions sellers often have once their home is ready to hit the market is:
“Should we have an open house?”
There isn't one answer that's right for every seller or every property.
An open house creates a designated period when potential buyers can tour the property without scheduling an individual showing. It can provide additional exposure and make it convenient for people who may be interested in seeing the home.
But an open house is only one part of a much larger marketing plan.
When you list with Team Martin, we're happy to arrange open houses when you want them. An open house may be hosted by us or by another Waters Edge Realty agent, giving your home another opportunity to be seen by potential buyers.
Quick Takeaways
An open house gives buyers another opportunity to tour your property.
You don't have to hold an open house in order to sell your home.
Team Martin offers open houses when our sellers want them.
Open houses are promoted as part of the listing's marketing.
Sellers should generally plan to be away from the home during the event.
Pets, medications, valuables, and private documents should be secured.
An open house is one marketing opportunity—not the entire marketing strategy.
What Is the Purpose of an Open House?
The primary purpose is simple:
Give people an opportunity to see the property.
Instead of scheduling an individual appointment, potential buyers can visit during a designated window.
This may be convenient for someone who has been watching the listing online, a buyer who happens to be looking at several homes in the area, or someone who has recently begun their home search.
An open house also gives us another reason to promote your property and remind people that it's available.
Do Open Houses Actually Sell Homes?
Sometimes the eventual buyer may first see a property during an open house.
Other times, the buyer who purchases the home will come through a privately scheduled showing.
That's why we don't believe an open house should be presented as something that guarantees a sale.
Its value is in creating another opportunity for exposure and another way for interested buyers to experience the home.
We look at it as one piece of the overall marketing effort rather than the only way we're trying to find a buyer.
How Will You Promote My Open House?
If we're holding an open house for your property, we don't want to simply put an Open House sign outside and hope someone drives by.
We'll promote the event through the marketing channels available to us.
That can include:
Adding the open house information to the appropriate listing platforms
Promoting it through Team Martin's Facebook presence
Sharing it on our business and personal pages
Sharing it in appropriate Facebook groups
Creating Open House social media posts
Using additional property marketing when appropriate
Your professional listing photographs give us strong visual material to use when promoting the event.
The open house becomes another opportunity to put your home in front of people.
How Should I Prepare for an Open House?
You don't need to prepare differently for an open house than you would for a good showing.
Focus on making the home clean, comfortable, and easy for people to walk through.
Before the open house:
Straighten the main living areas.
Make beds.
Clear unnecessary items from counters.
Put away dishes and laundry.
Open blinds or curtains when appropriate.
Make sure lights are working.
Address noticeable odors.
Straighten the entrance and exterior.
Secure valuables and private information.
Make arrangements for pets.
You don't need to make the house perfect.
You want visitors to be able to focus on the property rather than distractions.
Should I Be Home During the Open House?
We recommend giving buyers space to look around without the seller present.
People may feel more comfortable taking their time, asking questions, and discussing the property when the homeowner isn't standing nearby.
Your open house will be hosted by Team Martin or another Waters Edge Realty agent, so there will be an agent there to welcome visitors, provide available information about the property, and answer questions.
You get to leave the house for a little while and let us handle the open house.
What Should I Do With Pets?
Whenever possible, make arrangements for pets to be somewhere else during the open house.
An open house can mean unfamiliar people coming in and out over a period of time, which may be stressful for some animals.
Removing pets also helps visitors move comfortably through the property.
If taking a pet elsewhere isn't possible, we'll talk with you ahead of time about an appropriate plan.
What About My Valuables and Personal Information?
Before an open house—or any showing—we recommend securing items you wouldn't want accessible to visitors.
That includes things such as:
Prescription medications
Jewelry
Cash
Credit cards and checkbooks
Financial documents
Passports and identification
Spare keys
Sensitive paperwork
Small valuable items
This is something we recommend addressing before regular showings begin as well, so you aren't trying to remember everything each time someone comes through the home.
Will Neighbors Come?
They might.
And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Neighbors often know people who would like to live nearby. Someone may have a friend, relative, coworker, or other acquaintance who has been waiting for a home in the area.
We already include neighbor marketing as part of how we promote our listings, so an open house can give nearby homeowners another opportunity to share the property with people they know.
Of course, not every person who walks through an open house will be a serious buyer.
That's okay.
The purpose is to create exposure and opportunities for the home to be seen.
Should We Have More Than One Open House?
That depends on you, the property, and how the listing is progressing.
Some sellers may want multiple open houses. Others may want to try one and see how they feel about it.
We don't believe in holding an open house simply because a certain number of days have passed.
We'll talk with you about whether you'd like to hold one and whether additional open houses make sense as part of your marketing plan.
What Happens After the Open House?
Afterward, we'll follow up with you about how it went.
We'll share information about attendance and any useful questions, comments, or feedback received during the open house.
Like showing feedback, open-house feedback is information we can consider alongside everything else happening with the listing.
One person's opinion doesn't determine our strategy, but patterns can sometimes help us understand how buyers are responding to the property.
Is an Open House Required?
No.
If you don't want an open house, you don't have to have one.
Your property will still be professionally photographed, entered into the MLS, distributed online, displayed on its dedicated property website, promoted through Team Martin's marketing, shared with other real estate agents, and marketed through the other strategies we've discussed.
An open house is an additional opportunity, not the foundation of your home's marketing.
The Bottom Line
If you only remember one thing from this article, let it be this:
Your home's first showing may happen on a screen.
Professional photography helps us make that first impression count by presenting your property clearly, attractively, and professionally.
That's why every home we list receives professional real estate photography—and Team Martin pays for it.
From Dana & John
We don't want you to feel like you “have to” hold an open house just because your home is for sale.
Some of our sellers like having them and want us to hold them. Others would rather not—and we're okay with either choice.
If you want an open house, we'll arrange it, promote it, make sure an agent is there to host it, and follow up with you afterward about how it went.
It's simply another opportunity we can use to help get your home seen.
Continued Learning
Want to learn more about how we market your home?
→ How Will My Home Be Marketed?
→ Why Do Professional Photos Matter?
→ How Long Does It Take to Sell a Home?
→ What Makes One Listing Stand Out from Another?
Have Questions?
If you're thinking about selling and wondering whether open houses should be part of your marketing plan, we'd be happy to talk with you about how Team Martin markets our listings and what might make sense for your particular home.
Dana & John Martin – Team Martin
Waters Edge Realty
318-504-9925 | 504-450-2714
ALGulfCoastAgents@gmail.com
