Obviously markets differ, but here's my questions: How much importance do you place on open houses? We listed with Coldwell Banker, and at first our agent seemed really on the ball, in tune with all the latest tools, etc. But he doesn't like to hold open houses, saying that he doesn't feel they are worth the time. He held one, but he didn't have a brokers open house. He also seems reluctant to network with other realtors, instead relying heavily on the 24/7 phone info tool and his own marketing site. Also, he has relied on the use of a lock box for showings when he initially told us that it would only be in rare cases. I want my broker there representing the property. Thoughts?
Open houses are great for promotion...of the agent. They do virtually nothing for YOUR home and YOUR sale, it merely gives more visibility to your real estate agent. Those who are legitimately interested in your home will come with an agent for a private showing. Open houses gets lookie-loo's and neighborhood nosies. Not to mention a lot of agents are terrible at hosting open houses. When there gets to be more than 1 group of viewers, they don't pay attention...that's when your valuables get stolen. Prime target is women's jewelry because it's likely they have quite a bit and they won't know when things are gone. I highly suggest NEVER allowing an open house at your property. Again, all it does is promote the agent. Why should you open up your house for strangers, just to get more publicity for your agent?
We've been trying to sell our house and have interviewed 6 realtors over the past few months. Observations from REALTORS (fairly factual) 1. They ALL agreed that the Internet has changed the way buyers shop. Buyers look at homes AND make a first cut decision on homes based on the Internet and not much else. 2. Public open houses offer little. See #1 3 Realtor open house have some value, but you have to offer incentives to get other realtors to come. 4 Buyers that do visit a house decide within 90 seconds if they are really interested in the house. If not, its just curiosity that keeps them in the house after that. 5 Sellers tend to think their homes, AS IS, are perfect for buyers. Fatally flawed in almost all cases. 6 Buyers aren't interested in the seller's vision of what a house should be like. Observations ON realtors (my opinion and open to debate) 7. Even the seller's agent is not entirely focused on selling the house...often for good reason. If they believe a particular house is over-priced and the seller won't come down, the agent has little reason to put much effort into selling it. 8. The seller's agent will almost never be in the house when it is shown, unless they are also the buyer's agent...a conflict of interest in many agent's minds (and I agree). This leaves a big gap. The most knowledgeable person is the owner, who is typically not at home during a showing OR an open house. The second most knowledgable is the seller's agent, who is also hardly ever present during a showing. So, the seller is highly dependent upon buyers' agents learning about the house...an unlikely action in my experience. Sadly, it's just the way the real estate industry works. If you think there are features in your home that are really important to communicate to potential buyers during a showing, then leave signs around the house listing these. Don't depend upon anyone else to market your home...see above. 9. There is no benefit to "network' with other realtors...see #1. I'm surprised he said the lock box would be in rare cases...it's the most common means of making a home available to anyone.
I rarely do open houses (and I've SOLD over 990 homes in the past 18 years). Most of the 'buyers' that I see at an open house (on the rare occasion that I do one) are 8 months away from doing anything 'at the earliest'! It IS a good way for me to meet your neighbors and find a buyer that I can sell something else to down the road. Given the state of the economy right now, I'd suggest that if you "really" want your Real Estate Agent to do an Open House - PLEASE remove ANY AND ALL VALUABLES from the property. It is an OPEN HOUSE! You (nor the agent) has any control over who is going through your property. I've been at open houses before where I've had 6 parties in the house at the same time - how can I be with all of them?? (Luckilly the seller didn't lose anything) but I think you get my point. Given the low probablility (at least in my market) of selling as a result of an open house accompanied with the risks involved, I really don't see it as a good idea. (caveat - every market is different). Also, be sure to remove all of your prescription meds out of the medicine cabinet in your bathroom - the buyer might just have to go pee.
Concur that open houses are useless. Key nowadays is a link to a personal website with TONS of pictures. By the way, you are overdoing it with interviewing agents. Seriously. In 99% of cases the house sells on its merits, and its price. Lately, price is absolutely key. If you price your house below market, a monkey can sell it. If you price it at the market, or heaven forbid over, figure you will own it for a while. I have been perusing the Chicago market for awhile, looking for deals. I can't begin to tell you how many homes have been listed for over a year, with price drops in the 100,000$ plus range. Many of the homes we have been keeping track of in Winnetka/Lake Forest are dropping prices like crazy. One is a piece of land (with a crap house on it). $799,000...$699,000....$599,000...$499,000 "Will entertain all offers"... Another is a rehab...$1.2...1.1...950k....$880...$799k...finally got an offer...buyer backed out... The list goes on... figure by winter they will be $200,000 less.... You want your house to sell? Price it well.... Good luck!
I don't do them unless the client wants them. I know people who do them, they advertise the open house in the paper, the magazines, and on TV and sometimes not have a single person. I've noticed open houses attract the other homeowners in the neighborhood that want to know the price and snoop around their neighbors home.
If you are uncomfortable with the way he is handling things, especially with the lock box situation, I would call his managing broker and have a talk with him/her. Lock boxes are great for vacant homes but when people are living there I wouldn't always use one. I like to have a key at the office or with me that could be picked up for scheduled and approved appointments. Plus this gives me a chance to meet the showing agent. If I have any weird feelings I'll offer to go with them to see it. You can have him amend the marketing agreement taking the lock box permission away.
I have been in and out of the bidnesses for a number of years. Here is how I sell my personal home: 1. Move out. Everything. Lock, stock and barrel. A potential buyer is not interested in your view of the world. 2. Go through the house and fix EVERYTHING. Nothing is too small. Nothing is too big. 3. Run your own comps before you even call an agent. 4. Get a buddy and find out who moves the most on the MLS. Do not rely upon your wife's friend. 5. Interview the top three. When they ask you how much you want, refuse to answer. Get the agent to commit. 6. Expect every agent to lie to you about how much your home will sell for. They can't hep dem selfs. After all, they be Realtors (TM). 7. Choose the one who lies the least and call their bluff. It is important to get to the basics of love before listing the house. 8. If you have done all the above and you have priced the house right, it will sell within 60 days. In fact, I generally sell within a couple of weeks. Dale
My best friend has been a real estate agent for 10 years. He has told me the same thing about open houses. They only do them when the clients insist because they rarely work.
I'm in commercial, but this statement is so entirely true. I flat out tell people "don't bother" if they're out of whack with the market. These people are also a royal pain in the ass, too. Call someone else. The rest of what you say is true, although I don't know much about residential sales. Lots of it applies across the board. RMX
Some good advice but don't agree with the move everthing out. You should move a lot out so rooms look bigger and not cluttered. Take out all personal item like pictures and such. Sellers want the place depersonalized so they can let the buyer see themselves in the home. Clean very well & keep it that way- i can't stress this one enough. Make sure the landscaping is the best it can be- esp in front. The local realtors have one day a week they got togethor and as a group they would go to the new listings. This was a good way for my adjent to show the other adjents the property and explain & describe. No lock box unless you want people coming to the house all the time. No open house unless you want people looking for decorating tips or killing time or casing the place. Do not allow people to ring the bell because they saw the sign out front and want a tour. Price it 3% less then market & hold your line. Good luck.
Last house we sold, in Feb. '04, there were numerous lookers at the sunday open houses, waves of 4 or 5 couples at a time. The realtor called in desperation and asked me to help her not let people get away...and I was the first person the actual buyer talked to. Based on this incident alone, I can't say open houses are a waste of time. Different market now and different realtor, as the last one retired. We have another house for sale, and they have an open house every couple of sundays. Market favors buyers, upscale-desirable innercity location, lots of lookers. Three offers so far, first one right after the RE sign was put up on Feb 25. The people walked in late in the evening when I was finishing up some sweat equity work. The other 2 offers have come through private showings, and I don't know if they saw it on a sunday first. So far, none of the offers has flown, and we're at 11 weeks on the market, with a six-month listing agreement. Realtor is holding the price as-listed for now, as she fells it's fair for the neighborhood and a good negotiate-down point.
I definitely fit the "internet buyer" stereotype. I am constantly amazed that realtors will list homes with *maybe* one picture, scant details and a price in the 7 figures and expect buyers to come running in this market. There are a lot of for-sale signs all over the place. There is one I drive by on my way to work each day that has the price listed right out front. In the fall it was $529k, then $499k, and lately it's $479k. It's been stuck at 479 for a few months at least now. A lot of people still haven't come to terms with the new RE marketplace, and the realtors that haven't adapted are the ones failing left and right. Again, it stuns me that a seller of anything will list something they hope to get over a million dollars for and have one crappy low resolution picture, a lot-size and home-size in sq-ft, and then a "call me for details" tagline. The *only* houses I've checked into further are ones where they show me enough detail to interest me and excite me to the point where I want to see more. There is no shortage of homes to buy, but there sure is a shortage of buyers for those homes.
Thanks for all the great feedback. I know my wife and I, when we looked, were always checking properties out on the internet first. But because we're in the city, with a lot of properties on the market within a close proximity, you can still get a lot of legitimate buyers who make an afternoon of visiting the open houses because it's still relatively efficient. Our neighbors across the street sold in two weeks, during which time their realtor held 2-day, 4-hour open houses on consecutive weekends. A lot of work, and a lot of time. But it generated a lot of traffic. As far as lock-box showings, I feel like when someone comes through without your agent present, they look around with their realtor finding ways to de-value the home. The point of having the agent present is to create a positive impression and promote the property. Otherwise, I could put it on the MLS myself and wait for agents to call.
You can only put something in the MLS if you are an agent/broker. Is it different there? just curious
Okay, I'll slow down. If you want to sell your home, you need to treat it as inventory. It doesn't matter what you think of it. What matters is what a buyer will think of it. Step One - Reskinning the home. The goal is to make your used home look like a new home. After moving out, the punch list includes, but is not limited to,: 1. Remove every bit of wallpaper in the home. Nothing dates a home like wallpaper. 2. Upgrade all counter tops and appliances. 3. Upgrade all fixtures. 4. Replace all hardware. 5. Fix all damaged sheetrock and paneling. If fact, you may want to remove any paneling. 6. Replace or repaint kitchen cabinets. 7. Replace every light bulb. 8. Consider replacing sinks, tubs, and toilets. 9. Repaint every wall in the home. 10. Have a pro clean every bit of glass inside and outside the home. 11. Clean and replace flooring as necessary. 12. Have the outside pressure washed. 13 Replace siding if necessary. 14. Repaint outside if necessary 15. Pressure wash the drive way and walks. 16. Plant color in the landscaping. 17. Fix all fencing. 18. Consider all new window treatments 19. etc. etc. etc. Step Two - Listing the house 1. Never show the house to prospective realtors until you are finished with step one. Realtors are like little children. They have no imagination and their first impression will be their last. 2. Interview for a listing realtor. Ask them how many houses have they sold in the last six months. How many houses do they have in their inventory. Ask them how they plan on marketing the house. Ask them how they plan on finding prospective buyers. How will they use the Internet. 3. Keep in mind that while you are interviewing the realtor, all he or she is thinking abbout is how to get you to sign on the dotted line. In other words, they will be trying to figure out what YOU want to hear so they can tell you what you want to hear. 4. Never, ever, list with a friend of a friend. NEVER! 5. Never, ever tell prospective realtors your number. Make them tell you what they think the market is for your home. They'll hem and haw, but eventually they will blink. Ask them for a 90-day sales price. 6. Don't try and beat them down on their commission. After all the work you did in Step 1, if your house is priced right, it should sell in 60 days. What I do is shorten the listing period to 90 days. They'll cry that they have to list it for six months, but this is a lie. Trust me on this. If you follow these steps, the realtors will be wetting their pants to get your listing. Frankly, if you don't have some real offers within two to three weeks, you're a dead duck. Step Three - The Realtor Tour 1. Some areas do their new listing tours on Tuesday, some Wednesday. This is the real open house. This is when you really want to put on the dog. Stock the frig. Bake some cookies. Make some coffee. Make sure the toliets work and you have plenty of toliet paper. Put together a brochure with color pictures. It can't hurt to create a website. 2. After the mongrel herd is gone, clean up the mess and get ready. Step Four -- On the market 1. Don't count on your realtor checking on the home will it is being marketed. You should go by every evening and clean the house. (Plus, don't put the trash in the garbage can. Haul it off.) 2. Call your realtor every day. The SOB is now your employee. Make them accountable. Step Five -- Walking away from the closing table with a check within 60 days Dale
The list above wouldn't apply to all homes. For some people, the repair costs wouldn't be returned in the new price of the home.
Home A is worth $175,000 and add Remove every bit of wallpaper in the home. 2. Upgrade all counter tops and appliances. 3. Upgrade all fixtures. 4. Replace all hardware. 6. Replace or repaint kitchen cabinets. 7. Replace every light bulb. 8. Consider replacing sinks, tubs, and toilets. 9. Repaint every wall in the home. 10. Have a pro clean every bit of glass inside and outside the home. 11. replace flooring as necessary. 12. Have the outside pressure washed. 13 Replace siding if necessary. 14. Repaint outside if necessary 15. Pressure wash the drive way and walks. 16. Plant color in the landscaping. 17. Fix all fencing. 18. Consider all new window treatments 19. etc. etc. etc. all of that and you're now looking at spending well over $20,000 at least.... on a $175,000 home. Some homes may need $50,000 from your list and you didn't even cover heating, "the roof", structural items, electrical repairs, water tests, furnace, central air, blower door test, soil tests etc. The owner of course wants to sell but most likely not if he spends the time and cash on fixing the home, just so he can collect less money on the end. I've sold my share of houses and this list is too large for most home owners to acknowledge especially with the market crashing and peoples finances at an all time pinch. Home B is worth $750,000 and needs $60,000 worth of work. Well in that range a potential buyer will expect some brand new items and some very well maintained floors and nearly a spotless interior. So in this case not spending the $60,000 may cost you potential buyers and at least you'll have a small pool of buyers. Like I said "The list above wouldn't apply to all homes". Everyone wants to sell, FOR THE MOST MONEY POSSIBLE. < Tack that on the back end because it's true with ALL home owners.
He has a point. #6 could be $5 to $10k in and off itself. But I would imagine that more then 3/4th of that list would not have to be done in most people's homes if they have at all kept the building up.
If you go through the list and spend a good 5 minutes thinking about your own home, the total can sky rocket.
Dr Who is right on the money. In our market in Saint Simons Island GA there are 2400 homes on the market and only 40 sold last month. Of these homes most of them were in tip top shape. It makes a big difference. I also think real estate profesional open houses are important in our market. This may not be true of all markets. Bulk of our market is retirees moving into the area and most use a realtor. If realtors have seen the interior and know it's in good shape it will sell.
Thanks to the housing boom, nearly 4 out of 5 people have their license (it seems). I've got 6 friends who don't actively work in real estate but have real estate licenses thinking they were going to capitalize on the never-ending growth. But I know it would be more headaches than it's worth trying to do it myself. A neighbor tried that last year--listed it, held his own open houses--and got nowhere. Trying it again this year and using an agent.
The best post in this thread by far!!! I agree with all of your posts Dr. Who. I am in the market for a home. I have been in the market casually since December 2005 when I liquidated all of my real estate. I've been renting a condo ever since. I'm constantly amazed at what people think they are going to sell their homes for. I want to say "your home has been for sale for over a year. Do you want to sell it or not??" The latest numbers out today on foreclosures are not good news for sellers either. There is going to be a massive glut of homes coming on the market in 2008. I won't be buying in 2008.
