Ready to put your home on the market? Pierce Cody, Owner and CEO of Cody Live, shares his top tips for hosting a successful open house.
1. Set the stage: Create a neutral environment, clean the house and keep it well maintained. Clear counters, ditch clutter (remove anything the least bit controversial) and maximise natural light. It may also be worth employing a bit of staging to set the mood. When it comes to pulling in the serious buyers it pays to have a stylist who knows a few tricks of the real estate trade.
2. Take advantage of technology: make sure your agent uses the latest technology to market your house. You need a professional presentation online including a map, directions, and unique selling features. Don’t forget to make the most of social media to keep people updated too. Having people register their interest on the day by providing an email address also means that you can contact interested buyers in real time on the day.
3. Keep potential buyers updated: there’s nothing worse than waiting around at an open house with no information. Buyers become frustrated and can often lose interest. A good way to keep buyers updated is via digital signage. Cody Live StoryBoards (see below) can be updated remotely and instantaneously. If an agent is running late, they are able to simply send a message to the StoryBoard to update all attendees. Simple.
4. Enlist the neighbours: Neighbours can be some of the most important salespeople for the house. They want their friends to move into the neighbourhood therefore acting as potential scouts for the property, have your real estate agent drop off notification pamphlets about the open house and also welcome them to come in for a browse themselves.
5. Work closely with your agent: Have any relevant paperwork ready, the less buyers have to ask the more at ease they’ll feel in the property and the more time they’ll be able to spend imagining themselves in it.
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2 replies on “5 tips for an engaging open house when selling your home”
It’s important like you mentioned, to have your agent have paperwork ready. If the buyers have questions or are ready to purchase the less time they have to wait, the better. I might also have the agent at the open house so they can answer any questions as well.
I love the suggestion to keep your neighbors involved in your selling process. Most neighbors would be delighted to come take a look at your home and help inform prospective buyers about the neighborhood. The more friendly people in an open house, the better!