Open House Hits — and Duds Most agents I know — myself included — are moving from a two hour to a ninety minute open house. Here’s why: –You can do a “double-header” (back-to-back open houses) more easily that way. In fact, the preferred time slots are 12:30 p.m – 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m....Read More
Surefire Signs How does a Realtor tell if a home they’re listing is primed to sell? (see also, “Listings and Pots of Water“; “Buyer Feedback: ‘Win, Place, or Show'”). The starting point is their own knowledge of the home relative to nearby, competing homes — as well as the Comp’s (“Comparable Sold Properties”). To sell...Read More
That’s a Lot of Breadcrumbs Open House Signs! I certainly applaud the agent holding an open house in Fern Hill yesterday, who tried to cash in on all the foot traffic in the Uptown area for the City of Lakes Loppet over the weekend. So, every couple blocks, they placed an “Open House” sign directing people to...Read More
“Nosy Neighbor?” Try, Best Ally At least to some Realtors, neighbors are time-wasters and tire kickers. They come through open houses not to buy, but to see how their Kitchen compares with their neighbor’s, to get interior decorating ideas, or to see what their own home is likely worth. All (occasionally) true, but neighbors can...Read More
“Party of Five” — Or Twelve If a dozen people came through your Realtor’s Sunday open house, would that qualify as good traffic? It all depends. If the 12 people were the couple contemplating buying, 4 of their friends, 2 siblings, and both sets of parents . . . I’d say, “no,” not really (and...Read More
Motivated Buyers In my post, “Labor Day Weekend Traffic,” I offered up the (Realtor) conventional wisdom about open houses during holiday weekends and other traditionally slow periods. Namely, that such open houses often make up in quality what they lack in quantity. So who came through my Golden Valley open house today? –A “downsizer” who...Read More
