Chicago-Flat-Fee-MLS.com

Many homeowners who are selling on their own through a flat fee mls service, or strictly as a for sale by owner, wonder whether having an open house every Sunday afternoon is worth their time and the money spent on advertising for it.

The concept of the open house is from a completely different era in real estate marketing. Before the advent of high quality digital photography, the internet, and other technologies, the best way for a local real estate agent to present a property was to have an open house. During this bygone era, buyers would discover houses for sale by simply driving through neighborhoods they were interested in. It was a perfect mix.

Today, buyers are doing virtually all of their house hunting online and are getting a good feel for the available properties through the photos, virtual tours, and other media which have become so prevalent in the last decade. When they have narrowed their search to a few finalists, they typically want to have a private showing and would usually not wait for the owner to have an open house.

Open houses do tend to attract people, but it is often the wrong people, like your nosy neighbors or the very mildly prospective home buyers who have no idea what they can afford and who ask too many questions as to why you are moving. Although agents no longer view open houses as a primary marketing method for selling a house, they do look at it as a good opportunity to market themselves.
Every person who walks in, whether they are a nosy neighbor or unqualified buyer leaves with the agents card and hopefully a positive impression of him or her that they will share with their friends, relatives, or colleagues. It is simply a networking opportunity for the agent.

My usual advice for home sellers thinking about having an open house is to give it a try and see how it goes. If your property is in a newer subdivision that is getting lots of weekend traffic, you may have a good shot at getting an actual buyer in to see your home.
If a developer or builder is advertising in the local paper you can benefit from the advertising and increased subdivision traffic by simply putting a professional looking open house sign out in front with a directional sign off the closest main street.

Given the changing nature of the market and how buyers search for homes, the open house is no longer as valuable as a marketing tool as it once was. Resist the temptation to place print ads that can add up to real money over the course of a few weeks or months. If your home is in an area that gets lots of weekend traffic and interest then you may want to give it a try if you can do so with just the cost of a couple of nice looking signs. An “open house” sign is included if you purchase the sign kit with your listing on For Sale By Owner.com. Also be aware of other events that may distract potential visitors. In Chicagoland, for instance, “Bear Sundays” tend to be very quiet at open houses.