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Health & Fitness

Is The Open House Dead???

Is the open house dead in today’s fast paced real estate market?  The correct answer is yes, well kinda.  A lot of it depends on your market.  In areas like Macomb County,  it really isn’t needed.  I will let you in on a real estate secret.  Most homes that have open houses never sell at the open house.  The open house is a great way for the Realtor to meet potential buyers.  But for the most part these buyers are not looking to buy yet, or their dreaming about buying a home that is out of their budget(I mean who doesn’t like to walk through beautiful homes and dream).

I do realize that every time I say that open houses are dead the person I am speaking with says I bought my last home at an open house!  That’s just the way its seems to work.  So when is it a good idea to have an open house?  I think if you have a unique home then holding an open house is a good idea.  Just recently there was a home for sale in Ray Twp.  This particular home was a converted 1800’s school house.  It was amazing!  It was beautiful!  It didn’t look like much from the outside though.  The agent that had it listed held a “Brokers” open house and the home sold pretty fast.  In situations like that you definitely want to hold the home open.

What about a “brokers” open vs a regular run of the mill open house?  The difference is at the brokers open the listing agent invites other agents to the home hoping someone will have a buyer for the home.  Compare that to a few directional signs, baking some cookies, and allowing nosey neighbors to stroll through your house at a typical open.  Here is the other thing you need to keep in mind.  You never know who is coming into your home at an open house.  There could be qualified buyers,  non qualified buyers or even worse(yes there is something worse than non qualified buyers lol)  a criminal could be staking the home out.  I hate to scare you but, that's the world we live in.

The moral of the story is that if you price your home correctly in this current market you will have buyers and their agents beating the doors of your home in!  You don’t need to have an open house.  If you have a unique property or, it’s in a niche market such as a vacation home then yes open houses are alive and well!  If you are looking to sell a home…...buy a home…….invest in real estate…….or Start a new career in real estate contact me today!

Chris Taylor
Keller Williams
586-524-1095
chris.taylor@kw.com

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