I remember meeting with a seller who’s listing with another agent had expired. I askedthe seller how the traffic had been. “Great!” the seller exclaimed. “We have had an openhouse every weekend, and we are getting tons of traffic!”. “How about showings byRealtors?” I asked. The seller looked puzzled. “Well… er… not too many” was the reply.“Okay, so what has the feedback been from the open house traffic?” I inquired. Herecomes the puzzled look again. “Well, er, I’m not really sure. I think they all liked it”.“Then why no offers?” I asked. The seller had no answer.In real estate, not all traffic is equal. Showings from brokers is the best traffic you canget. And Open Houses can be fools gold. They often trick a seller into thinking they arein the game, when in reality they may have no chance of selling. In fact, if you want toget a real read on where your house is in the marketplace, stop doing open houses.open-house-sign.jpgThe difference is this. In order to see a home that is for sale but not open on weekends,the potential buyer has to take some action. They have to contact the listing agent, or contact their own agent, or send an email, or take another step to arrange a viewing. Andeach step is a litmus test for the buyer’s motivation level. So as a seller, when you get ashowing from an agent, at least you know there was some effort involved in the decisionto see your home.On the flip side, you don’t need to take any action to see an open house. You don’t evenhave to be in the market to buy, and many visitors are in fact not buyers. You don’t haveto be qualified, have a down payment, or a credit check. Open house visitors can come in,wander around aimlessly looking at pictures, gathering decorating ideas, and just plainkill time. I am convinced that many people who come through open houses are just plain bored, and looking for an excuse to get out of the house. Not the type of viewings that aregoing to result in an offer any time soon.The other compelling reason not to do open houses, but rather aggressively seek showings from agents, is that you get far better information and feedback from the agentshowing. The listing agent has the opportunity to interact with the showing agent to findout what the buyer thought, what they liked, any concerns or negatives, and in generalhow your home ranks in the mind of the buyers. This is very valuable information. Atopen houses, even if you make a determined effort to solicit feedback from visitors asthey leave, you are often greeted by blank stares or shrugs, or puzzled looks that seem toask “why in the world would you care what I think about this house… I have no intentionof actually buying this or any other house”. Not the type of market information that hasany value. And asking an open house visitor to sign a guest register seems to be likeasking them to fill out an IRS form. They scribble down illegible names and fake emailaddresses. In fact, just last month I discovered to my amazement that “Elvis Presley” and“Jimmy Carter” had recently visited my open house. Funny, I think I would haveremembered them.Okay. By now many of you are saying “yeah, but there are buyers who come through as
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