A reader writes:
Candy, we have had our home on the market now with a top-name agent (according to the “Best” lists, not someone I have seen on your blog) who has held a few open houses. Two to be exact. Our home has been on the market for over three months, no nibbles. My question is this: how many people should you expect at an open house?
Isn’t a Real Estate agent’s real horsepower in networking and connecting to lots of other agents who know other agents and buyers who might be interested in buying my home?
We have had 15 people max at each Open House (two). One was cancelled due to the weather.
Is that normal? I really do not know. I wonder if other sellers think about this, too, and hope you can tell me what we should expect in terms of a good turn out that is indicative that our agent is working hard for us. We are inside the 635 Loop. Thank you.
Oh boy, that’s a tough one. It depends on your location, obviously, the further out one lives the fewer lookers you will have in the boonies, say. That’s why you usually don’t see agents jumping to take on far-away ranch properties.
I go to a lot of open houses. The weekend/evening events are the best, and many agents have food, wine, and entertainment. Some will have drawings for gadgets like i-pads, all to draw you in to see their property and spread the word.
I’m going to say that a good agent should be able to pull out 60 to 100 people per open house. Please pipe in and tell me if I am on base, off base, or if the base has taken off for Oz.
Update, 3:21 p.m: agents are calling to tell me I must distinguish between an EVENT for a home, with food, music, booze and maybe some kind of gift, and a regular Joe weekend open house. Depends on high rise or single family prop, too. For these 15 to 20 is an acceptable turn-out. But this discussion is only beginning. Feel free to text, call or email your thoughts.
