Open Houses are Back

Most visitors are just lookers, not qualified buyers.

It is normal when buyers first start the buying process to explore the real estate market. A good agent will help narrow a buyer’s focus based on their wants and needs. As you are touring the house, ask these questions:
* So what brought you out today?
* What are some of your must-have features?
* What are some nice-to-have features you want?
* How long have you been looking?
* How many houses have you looked at so far?
* What was it about those that you didn’t like?
These questions are designed to see if they are serious buyers. If they are, you need to find out if they are already working with an agent. Be careful when you ask questions to be conversational not interrogational.

Most buyers are already working with an agent.

There is a difference between working with an agent and being contracted under buyer agency. You need to be inquisitive to determine the level of commitment the buyer has to the other agent. Remember, half of all buyers have a house to sell and don’t be surprised if the buyer prospect has not already listed their house with the other agent. Ask everyone:
* Are you working with an agent?
* Have you signed buyer agency?
* Do you have your current home on the market?

Most visitors are simply curious neighbors.

Don’t dismiss them. Don’t forget that they may have a house they need to sell. They might also know someone who wants to move into the area. Anytime you have a chance to build a relationship with someone in your target market, take full advantage. Ask:
* How long have you lived in the neighborhood?
* Why do you like best about living in this area?
* This property will attract a lot of buyers, have you considered selling?
* Would you be interested in a valuation on your house?
I can’t begin to count the number of times an open house led me to a neighbor’s listing because I was hungry enough to ask.

Inviting strangers into the house can be dangerous.

I have always been concerned with agent safety. We’ve all heard devastating stories about agents being attacked in open houses. You should always have another agent there to help you with coordinating traffic (avoid being alone). It is also useful to ask a mortgage rep to co-host the open house with you. They would love to meet potential buyers, so it is a valuable use of their time, and it is a great way to qualify visitors as to their financial viability. It’s a win:win.

Open houses are a waste of my time and resources.

I agree, when open houses are done poorly, it is a waste of an agent’s time. When they are done correctly, it is a valuable marketing tool to sell the property and uncover leads. Most of all, if your attitude going into the open house is that they don’t work, then I can assure you they won’t.

PREPARATION IS KEY

It is important to follow the rules of your state/province, local board, and your brokerage. In some jurisdictions you need to limit the number of people coming into a property at the same time (typically no more than 10), in other jurisdictions there are still mask mandates indoors. Your brokerage has guidelines on how to host safe open houses, so be sure to review them.
Have a sincere conversation with your sellers on what they are comfortable with. For instance, let them know:
* you put a cap on the number of visitors allowed in
* everyone will sign in, so you have their contact info.
* you will bring a 2 containers of pens for the sign in desk, one for clean pens and one for used pens, so no-one uses the same pen
* all visitors will wear masks and gloves (if required)
* you will have extra face masks available
* you will have multiple sanitizer stations throughout the house
* you will arrive early to turn on the lights and open all doors, so visitors don’t need to touch anything
* you will open windows to increase ventilation
* you will disinfect all high-touch surfaces before and after the open house (such as counters, door handles, light switches, stair rails, lockbox & keys, etc.)

SET EXPECTATIONS

When you are marketing your open house, make sure you let visitors know what to expect. Communicate if you are limiting the number of people in the house, if you expect visitors to wear masks or gloves, and how you will coordinate waiting lines. Ask all non-decision makers (e.g. kids) not attend the open house to limit the number of people entering the house. If you bring another agent to coordinate traffic, have them set up a table outside the front door with the sign in sheet (this enables contact tracing if you learn someone was COVID-positive), feature sheets, sanitizer, gloves, masks, and a beverage station while people wait. I would have a screening questionnaire to ensure people are not exhibiting COVID symptoms. If someone shows up who is visibly ill, it is not inappropriate to ask them to leave for everyone’s safety.

MAKE THE SELLERS COMFORTABLE

Some sellers will be comfortable having people in their house, others will not. Discuss the advantages of having an open house (driving more traffic – more viewings typically mean more offers – more offers mean more money). If the sellers are adamant they do not want an open house for safety concerns, you need to respect that. It does warrant a conversation on how they may be leaving money on the table, but at the end of the day, they are in charge and you must abide by their wishes.

VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSES ARE HERE TO STAY

The pandemic has required agents to become very savvy with online marketing. Most agents are comfortable doing virtual open houses, virtual showings, and 3D walkthroughs using platforms like BoxBrownie or Matterport. We have also become comfortable doing impromptu virtual showings using FaceTime or Zoom. I believe this level of online marketing is here to stay as it gives buyers a great way to experience the house to narrow their search. I’ve personally purchased a home sight unseen based on a virtual tour, yet if given the choice, I still prefer to walk through a property before I buy it. It think moving forward we will have a hybrid of both.