There are currently two issues in real estate right now: (1) affordability, what with the rates being higher on top of inflation that affected even home prices, and (2) not enough inventory.

I know you’ve been paying attention to the news. 

With the economy being the way it currently is, a lot of homeowners and homebuyers are concerned about mortgage rates. Most people assume that the rates are going to skyrocket to the 8-9% range, but we have been seeing quite the opposite recently—they’ve actually dropped to the low sixes, and some of our team members even received quotes from banks that are in the high fives.

Historically, when the economy is doing badly, investors look for a more stable investment—the bond market. And as we’ve discussed quite a few times over the past year, mortgage rates are tied to the US 10-year Treasury bond.

Therefore, in contrast to what most of us believe to be the logical trajectory of mortgage rates, real estate maintains a relatively stable value even when the economy is in a state of flux because as more investors invest in the bond market, more money flows into the Treasury, which in turn drives down mortgage rates. 

With that being said, we have an opportunity, not just for real estate agents to close deals, but also for hopeful homebuyers to get the home that they want and for home sellers to make that sale. And it is our job to assist these people with their real estate needs.

That’s why open houses are so attractive right now.

We recently gave away a white paper exclusively to people who are part of our coaching, and those who jumped into our latest Brilliant Talks session live also got a copy. My team put it together, and it is called “Why Open Houses Still Matter in a Digital Real Estate Word,” and we discussed some of the latest available stats from NAR as to why hosting an open house event is a great opportunity you shouldn’t miss.

We also gave some tips on how to make a successful open house event.

Quick statistics from NAR

• 2% of all buyers visited open houses as their first step in the home-buying process

It might seem low, but out of that 2%, you are going to see more people who are more ready to go and buy a home—because they actually took the step to see a home in person—versus every prospect you get that is searching for homes online.

When you typically look at online buyers, most of them are looking to buy 8-12 months out. There is more intent from people looking at open houses to commit to making that move--they are more serious about buying a home.

• 41% of buyers found information for their home search from open houses

Homebuyers want to take a look at what the area is like and get a feel for the home.

• 4% of buyers found the homes they bought from open house signs

That means 1 out of every 25 homebuyers finds their home through open house signs. That’s nuts! 

• Even in digital home search, 20% of buyers consider information about upcoming open houses very useful website features when looking for homes online, while 12% look for virtual open houses

In our experience, 19% of unresponsive leads in our databases often respond when we send them a text about open house events. They aren’t always positive responses, but the important part is they responded. And for us agents, we need to get our prospects to respond to us in order to actually have a way in and build a relationship.

It just goes to show that buyers are interested in seeing homes in person, and open houses are a great way to give them just what they need.

• 5% of buyers found real estate agents to work with from open house signs while 4% met their agents during an open house visit; 4% of sellers also found agents to represent them during an open house 

It is also effective at prospecting and converting leads. Even if those people who came into that open house don’t end up buying the home, they could still become your potential clients—you can connect them to other properties, or they might be interested in selling their own home.

• 43% of listing agents use open houses to market listings, while 6% utilized virtual open houses

These numbers show that open houses do work; you just have to know how to work those open house events.

A lot of agents say open houses don’t bring buyers, they bring liars, but that isn’t true. The key is knowing how to engage your attendees and talk to them. Even better if you utilize social media to promote your open houses.

The more people you bring to your open house event, the better your prospecting will be. Social media is a great tool for marketing your events and listings, and can even be an effective way of engaging your consumers.

Know when to engage and when to back off and let them look around, and always ask questions. The more information you get, the better you can get to know your potential clients, and the better you can serve their needs and find opportunities for follow-up.

Hosting an effective open house event

There’s a lot of work that goes into hosting an open house event, and some agents doubt whether that effort is worth its returns. When done right, yes, it is worth the hard work. Here are some things that could make your open house event even more effective.

#1: Consider your audience

When considering properties to host open house events in, the general rule of thumb is to get as many audiences interested in that home as possible. So most agents choose properties that fall within the average price point in that area.

But when you consider who your audience could be, any home can be advertised using open houses. Are you targeting people who might be thinking of downsizing? A small and cozy home can be an attractive open house. Maybe you are looking to target people who want to upsize or buy a luxury home—then properties that match that audience will also get people interested in walking in your open house on properties that match those needs.

The problem isn’t which property is worth doing an open house event in, the key is knowing (1) what are the best points of these homes and (2) how do I get the right audience to come to the open house event.

If you know your audience and know your product, then you can market it to the best of your abilities.

#2: Signs matter

In case you missed it, NAR’s statistics show that 4% of buyers found the homes they bought from open house signs, while 5% of buyers found real estate agents to work with from open house signs. While those numbers might seem small, they're still significant enough to prove that your open house sign is a worthy investment.

While buying generic signs available on the market is definitely an option, creating your own custom-made, brand-aligned signs will pay dividends for you in the long run.

Branding your signs is a great way to raise brand recognition. One, it will stand out from the generic signs other agents use, and more importantly, two, people will get to know who you are just by the signs alone.

The first rule in marketing is to grab your audience’s attention and stand out enough to be remembered and recognized.

Aside from investing in branded signs, you can also use helium balloons, pinwheels, flags, and other decorations to make them more noticeable. Jason even once fashion-showed his open house sign and “ring-girl-ed” it across the street. It might sound hilarious or embarrassing to do for most of us, but hey, it works for grabbing attention.

You can also add freebies like free snacks, cookies, donuts, or pies and advertise them on your signs. The food might have brought them in, but that cookie or donut could be the ticket for people to turn down an offer on their way out.

Of course, frequency of exposure also factors in when it comes to retention, so having around 20-25 signs strategically placed around the area is highly recommended. Yes, they might be a pain to put up and take down, but you can always find people who are willing to help you with that task for a relatively low price.

#3: Door knocking

Never underestimate the curiosity of neighbors. Remember the 10-10-20 rule: statistically, when one house goes up for sale, in the next twelve months, one or more of either the 10 houses to the right, the 10 houses to the left, or the 20 houses across the street from that property will also go up for sale. And statistics also show that most people move within an 18-mile radius of their current home.

That’s why door-knocking has been around for ages—because it works. Aside from getting the curious neighbors to come into your open house and talk about the house to their circle of friends and family (which is effective and free word-of-mouth marketing), you also get to pique their interest about the possible value they will get for their own home if they ever decide to put it up for sale.

Just make sure to do this a few days before the open house or make plans to get there 90 minutes early the morning of the event and knock on doors. Even better, organize a pre-open house event exclusively for neighbors. This increases interest in your event and facilitates the development of relationships within the neighborhood where the house is for sale.

#4: Put it on social

COVID is still a thing, although it has become less threatening. Safety protocols and social distancing are still worth observing to be on the safe side. And even without the threat of the pandemic, there is a limit to how many people can physically fit inside a home at any given time.

Putting your open house online via live streaming is a great way to increase the range of your reach. While most people do move within an 18-mile radius of their current residence, statistically, there are still some people from across several states, or even across the globe, that could potentially be interested in purchasing a home.

Reaching those audiences is worth it, and social media is free, so you have very little to lose by utilizing technology in this digital world.

#5: Follow up

This is the most important part. You can have the best open house event and have hundreds of people walk through your open house, but without a strong follow-up, you’ll be missing out on a lot of opportunities and wasting money, time, and effort.

Follow-up is where relationships get built, and relationships are what get you closed deals. It is also what makes real estate agents seem credible, professional, diligent, and trustworthy to their potential clients. If you tell people you’ll be sending them properties that they might like, you need to follow through with what you promised.

More importantly, you need to strike while the iron is hot. A lot of your potential clients visit multiple open houses in a single day, but not all agents get back to them after making the initial connection. That is your window of opportunity to be the first to show up and make your clients feel that you care about them and genuinely want to help them to the best of your abilities. That’s what makes an agent a pro in this field.

If you missed this session, you can watch the replay on my YouTube channel. We do this free coaching every week, and every now and then we do giveaways like our white paper. Of course, those who are part of our one-on-one and group coaching get access to the same freebies and more, aside from valuable insights, market/trade secrets, and strategies.

If you are interested in signing up for coaching, feel free to contact me or visit our website to learn more.