Open Days For House Viewings Can be a Bad Idea

Open days for house viewings have been all the rage over the past few years BUT…

The property market isn’t what it was a few years ago and holding an open days for house viewings can actually be detrimental to the ongoing market… check  out this quick video for more.

more…

When selling a property, open days seem to be the ‘in thing’ at the moment, but are they really a good idea?

Well, Yes IF, and it’s a big if, they are done properly.

Why are they a good idea (if done correctly):

• Lots of viewings on one day (or morning or afternoon) makes it very convenient for you. You only have to make your property a show house for one day
• Having lots of buyers see your house at the same time creates a real sense of urgency and competition amongst buyers
• Because of the above point, offers tend to come in nearer, or over, the asking price (assuming the asking price is right in the first place)

What open days are not:

• A chance for every Tom, Dick and Harry to look at your house
• A guaranteed way to sell your house
• A way to sell your house for more than it’s worth

A few other things to bear in mind:

• An unsuccessful open day can actually damage the future marketing of your property, so be careful
• You need a decent amount of marketing time ‘before’ the open day
• If done properly, it isn’t really an open day, more of a block viewing
• They won’t work on every property

Now I have a very high success rate with ‘open days’ because I do them properly. Here is a recent example:

I took a house onto the market in Horley. A 3 bedroom semi detached house needing some updating. The ideal property for an open day. I valued the house at £230,000 BUT because I knew an open day was a good idea for this particular property, we marketed at offers in excess of £225,000 (the carrot). We had 8 viewings, 3 offers and agreed the sale for over my original valuation. That’s how an open day should be.

All the best,

p.s. Would you like more impartial advice? Head on over to my FREE eGuides page by clicking here.