Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Open House



It's a great debate among Realtors and those who have a home to sell; to do an open house or not?  I must say, I have flip flopped on this one.  Those that believe in the value of  an open house are strong believers.  It's a great marketing tool, it's gets the word out, it's an opportunity to show the house to prospective buyers.

Those opposed are typically opposed for one reason...nosey neighbors!


But what about nosey neighbors?  Here's what happened to me recently.  I held an open house for a new listing (check it out if you like, great house!).  I had five neighbors come through the house (along with other interested parties).  One set of neighbors gave me tons of historical information about the house, including insight into an upstairs bathroom!  Another set of neighbors talked about the great neighborhood and what drew them to the area.  All this information added to the arsenal of information I could now pass on to prospective buyers!

The neighbor next door went a step further.  She came to the open house.  She dropped by again later with a friend.  During the second visit, she told me that she had put a link to the home out on her Facebook page.  Wow!  She was marketing the house!  She has a vested interest in who moves in next door to her!

So here's the thing about nosey neighbors.  They know people, too.  They may have a co-worker, family member or friend looking for a new home.  The power of word of mouth marketing can't be discounted here.  And the wealth of information I gathered while visiting with these neighbors was priceless.

Will the efforts of the nosey next-door neighbor sell the house?  Who knows?  But it only takes one buyer and the more people who know your house is for sale, the better.

1 comment:

  1. Kathy---Great use of a blog. Well written and fun. Way to go.
    tom meyer

    ReplyDelete