Less than one percent of houses sell as a result of an open house. That’s an actual statistic from the National Association of Realtors. So how does this fit in with an article that’s titled “Why You Need to do More Open Houses?” Why would you want to do more open houses, if it’s not going to result in a sale? Who in their right mind would want to spend their weekend sitting in some house especially if it’s not going to help the house get sold?
Agents dedicated to growing their business is who will be there holding open houses. The truth of the matter is, open houses are actually a gold mine. But how can that be? The NAR says I have less than a one percent chance of selling the house through an open house.
The Truth Behind this Statistic
This is where we need to pay attention to the details. The details change everything. We need to break down what this stat is really telling us, and not just the conclusion most people jump to when hearing any statistic.
This is a true statistic, you most likely will not sell the house you are holding open. Sure lightning may strike occasionally, and the one time out of a hundred alone could make your time and effort worth it.
This is where we need to look at the opportunity hiding in plain sight. Thinking of the glass as half full instead of half empty.
Just because your open house visitors won’t buy the house you’re holding open, doesn’t mean they won’t buy any house. That would be like saying: they saw your open house and that completely turned them off on buying a house.
If you test drive a car and not like the car, do you decide you’re going to keep your current car that isn’t fulfilling your needs? Absolutely not, you simply test drive more cars until you find the one you want to buy.
That’s all people are doing at open houses, test driving the house. So how does this help you trying to sell this house? It doesn’t. Bad news for the seller, but only bad news for you, the agent, if you are so busy you cannot take on any new clients.
The Reason to Hold More Open Houses
Every person walking into your open house is a potential client. Unless they’re touring the open house with their agent, which is highly unlikely, they probably need an agent to represent them.
It’s now your job to wow them with your level of personalized service. Your goal is for them to walk away thinking it would be a mistake to use anyone other than you to represent them. At the very least, get their contact info and follow-up with them. Just because they’re not ready to buy today, doesn’t mean they’ll never buy. It’s now a waiting game, where you need to still be top of mind when they’re ready to pull the trigger.
Moral of the Story
Do more open houses. They may not get the property sold but they will help bolster your client base and keep your pipeline full. Even if you only have 10 people come to your open house, that’s 10 potential buyers who you can now show other properties. As a bonus, you’ll be sharpening your people and sales skills by having plenty of new contacts to interact with.
Understand how many leads you’ll need to meet your income goals with our article on How to Write a Real Estate Business Plan.
