Marketing perks of traditional open houses

NEW YORK – Oct. 16, 2008 – Open houses are time-consuming and don’t always lead to a buyer, but do the other benefits make them worthwhile? Many practitioners say yes, citing these perks:

• They’re open to everyone. Not only is the house open to prospective buyers and their friends, it also opens the property to other practitioners and to bankers. This openness can lead to sales, says Peggy Moriarty, associate broker at Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island.

• More exposure for the home. A well-priced house that is open to all will draw customers away from the competition, says Seth Pitlake, a licensed sales associate with Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Merrick, N.Y.

• Nothing beats an in-person showing. You can shop around on the Web, but seeing a home in person is what convinces a potential buyer to make an offer. “If I were a really serious buyer, I’d be looking at every single house in my price range in the area. A lot of people don’t want to make appointments with a Realtor. They like the advantage of just going to an open house,” says Moriarty.

• Neighbors are often buyers. Sure, a lot of people show up to an open house out of pure curiosity. But that doesn’t mean those people won’t eventually buy. “It’s amazing how many people move to another house in their own neighborhood, so these are also potential customers,” says Regina Koller, communications and community relations coordinator for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Hauppauge, N.Y.

Source: Newsday, Daniel Bubbeo (10/10/08

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