If you’re planning to sell a house or know someone who’s trying to do the same, you’ll probably consider hosting an open house. This practice means letting prospective buyers view the property for a scheduled time. It’s an old and prevalent marketing technique that can increase your chances of making a sale. 

However, doing open houses is not always convenient or effecient. While it can be a good way for exposure, hosting an open house demands time and effort on both homeowner and real estate agent. Also, there are now many ways to sell a real estate property. 

So, it’s wise to sit down and think about whether an open house is for you. Weigh these pros and cons of hosting an open house before you go for it. 

Advantages

Gives You Time to Prepare

Compared to a regular showing, an open gives you time to prepare the property for potential buyers. Buyers can visit the house on short notice in a regular showing. But with an open house, you can do some planning, preparation, and cleaning to make the property presentable. 

Prospective buyers will benefit big time when viewing the house in its best condition. They can imagine what to do with the space if they see it at its best. 

Bigger Audience

Aside from potential buyers, brokers and agents are part of your audience as well when you do an open house. Real estate professionals will look around and work together to find a buyer and sell the house faster. Passersby and your neighbors will also be enticed to see the property because of the signage in the front yard and tell other people who might be interested. 

The bigger the audience, the more chances you can sell the house in a short span of time. It's one of the reasons sellers opt for an open house. 

Convenient Marketing

Another advantage of an open house is that it’s a convenient form of marketing. Imagine you just put signage that guides anyone from the street to look at the property you’re selling. Even folks who happen to pass by your house will see that sign, and that’s a good start to increase the probability of making a sale. 

There’s no need for extravagant marketing. Just a simple open house signage can help you attract a buyer for the property. 

Disadvantages

Security Concerns

Hosting an open house can make the property open to folks with evil intentions. Worse cases that can happen during or after an open house are theft, vandalism, or break-in. If you’re using this selling technique, make sure to stash away your valuable and expensive items in a safe place. 

Your agent will have a difficult time supervising and checking all the people who look into an open house. Given a perfect opportunity, people with ulterior motives can vandalize or steal something from the property. It's advisable to put a few people to help keep the security tight and to deter criminals from doing bad stuff in the open house. 

Attract Unqualified Buyers

Not all who look into an open house are qualified buyers. Many will walk through an open house with nothing but curiosity. Some will simply make a comparison between the property you're selling and heirs, and that’s really a bummer. 

So, if you’re planning to host an open house, you have to expect unqualified buyers. Also, keep in mind that you can’t do a pre-screening of all the folks who will enter the property. But if you look at the silver lining, these unqualified buyers can be an excellent enticement for some people to look at the house. 

Just One of Several Means

There are several marketing techniques that lead to the sale of your property. An open house is only one of these several means. So, don’t bet all your chips on hosting an open house and expect to win. Although it’s an excellent marketing technique and will indeed boost the exposure of the listing, you also need to explore other ways of selling a house faster. 

Most buyers still prefer private showings. Even if they go to an open house, they will still make an appointment to talk to you without other people. If someone asks for a private showing, you can at least expect that it’s a serious, qualified buyer who can make an offer. So, keep that in mind before you decide to host an open house. 

Takeaway

Like with everything, there are advantages and disadvantages of hosting an open house. It’s crucial to weigh the pros and cons to see whether doing an open house is a good thing for your making a quick sale. Moreover, you need to study and try other marketing techniques to increase your chances of selling the house faster.