Real Estate Open Houses - How to Attract More than just Window Shoppers

Opinion in the real estate market today is split when it comes to the relative merits of holding an open house. Some realtors believe that this strategy is ineffective when it comes to selling a home, and in fact that it might be counter productive. The theory behind this thinking is that open houses don’t necessarily attract people who are actually interested in buying your home; instead, they attract people who are just interested in looking at your home, otherwise known just as curious “window shoppers”.

Maybe you think that holding an open house is really the best and most effective way to get prospective buyers interested in your property, and have decided to take the plunge and try holding one yourself. Well, it could be very successful indeed, but the key will be in attracting a truly targeted audience. Here are a few ideas.

Forget traditional media. Many times, people will rely on listing their open house in the newspaper or on television spots in order to get the word of it out there. This is a great way to attract not really interested buyers, but rather people out to kill time on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Not only does this fail to really serve your purpose, but you also run the risk of excluding truly interested buyers due to a lack of room.

Harness the power of the Web. Instead of using traditional media, try taking a look at listing your home on one of the sites on the Internet. There are several sites which list open houses in specific areas. The difference here is that these sites are not typically used by casual browsers; instead, they attract a highly focused traffic truly interested in your property.

Move the whole thing online! The Internet also offers a whole new level of open house in the form of the virtual tour. Not only do you only show your house to truly interested potential buyers, but you don’t have to have anyone physically in your home to do it! In addition, you are always showing your house in prime condition.

If you are considering holding an open house, make sure to address their shortcomings by focusing on a more targeted traffic. One way to do this is to take advantage of the opportunities available online.

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