Open House: Your home, your realtor, and you

When buyers become fewer than sellers, the Open House reappears on the real estate scene. For owners, few homes sell due to an open house event (some realtors and reports say that only 2 percent of properties are sold due to an open house), but yours could be the one that catches a prospective buyer's eye. For realtors, an open house is not a chore; it's an opportunity to meet new clients.

For this writer's family, our Open House experience places us in that lucrative two percent. My mother-in-law sold her house to a woman who first saw it during a weekend showing. The deal could not be finalized, though, because financing was unfortunately a problem for the buyer. Due to a slow market, the house was later removed from sales lists. Coincidentally, when the house was relisted, that same buyer had just secured financing. Due to her previous open house experience, the buyer quickly came back and sealed the deal-albeit, with a new realtor. So throwing an open house can accomplish its purpose-finding a buyer for your home.

For the seller, we encourage you to consider our previous articles on home staging before featuring your property as an open house. Many potential buyers spend little time at an open house unless something immediately strikes them about the property and its potential to be their “perfect” home. Home staging helps create the right atmosphere for your real estate.

Additional tips to remember are: 1) at all costs, eliminate mess and clutter. Hire a cleaning service if you have to, because your house must be spotless to show well. 2) Set the mood with calm music and good lighting. 3) If your home features many family portraits, consider taking these down and replacing them with prints or hangings that match your décor. This is not really a security issue. It simply makes it easier for the buyer to imagine the house as their home when your family isn't looking down on them from every wall. 4) Baked goods evoke positive domestic thoughts-fresh cookies or something similar are a great way to get into a buyer's head and the lingering scent doesn't hurt. 5) Hide valuables, store them away from home or take them with you when you leave the house in the care of the realtor. While your agent will take care of security, no one can foresee every possible situation. If you can't imagine losing something, take the appropriate precautions.

Realize that not everyone who visits your home will wish to buy it. The nosy neighbor is a true stereotype. At the same time, while trying to sell your home, your realtor will meet people who are likely to become new clients-but not in regards to your sale. This is a perk for your agent, because as mentioned, the open house seldom results in a sale, while commanding a considerable amount of your agent's time.

To finish on a positive note about open house events, consider this statistic. One major U.S. city experiences 700 to 800 open houses every weekend. That means that roughly fifteen houses sell every week there, strictly due to open showings. So, prepare your house well and you could be one of them.