Should I Hold An Open House???

The NAR (National Association of Realtors) has conducted studies that show the chances of a home selling due to holding an open house are very small. The truth is open houses were much more important before the day of digital photos and virtual tours. These days, without ever physically goning through a home, most homebuyers already know what the interior and exterior look like by viewing the online media. If they like the look of a home, buyers can simply set up a private showing with their Realtor at a time that is convenient for them.

Let's consider that a good turnout at an open house event will bring 5-10 sets of people through (half or more of which are usually just nosey neighbors). Now compare that with the traffic of just one website. In an average week on the GRAR MLS public website, I will often have hundreds of online lookers that will view the “detailed page” of one of my listings (I e-mail the stats to my clients every week). That's why I take so much care in the way I list homes and the way I present the digital media. An agent that knows how to properly market your home online is worth a lot more than one that’s willing to hold an open house every week or two.

So why do agents still hold open houses? I’ll give you what I believe to be the three primary reasons as a percentage of motivation to the average agent.

60% - In order to gain new leads/prospects.
35% - In order to appease the seller.
5% - In order to market/sell the home.

Your agent probably won’t admit it, but the main reason he/she will hold an open house is in hopes of gaining a few good client prospects. Often times, new buyers that are just starting to look will start by browsing through a few open houses on Sunday afternoons. If the new buyer isn’t already committed to an Realtor, you can bet the open house agent will attempt to pursue them as a client. That’s why you’re always signing those annoying open house registries that ask for your name and number when you walk in.

The other primary purpose agents hold open houses is because they want to show the seller that they are actively doing something to sell the home (regardless if the activity is productive). Seller’s are often misinformed and think that open houses are a pivotal part of the marketing process. After all, why is the Sunday paper so full of them? What you'll actually find if you research the subject is that more and more agents and real estate companies are electing not to hold any open houses as the cost and time far exceeds the benefit.

Yes, it true, on rare occasion a buyer may decide at an open house to purchase a home. However, chances are that a buyer that bought a home they saw due to an open house would have purchased the home regardless. Instead of deciding it was the perfect house for them at an open house, they probably would made that same decision at a private showing.

Here's something you probably haven't thought about... Did you realize that you are putting your personal property at risk when you hold an open house? Stolen items at open houses are not uncommon. Some thief’s specialize just in stealing at open houses. Think about it. What happens when your agent has two or three sets of people walk into your home at the same time? Your agent can’t keep an eye on them all. How easy is it for one person to distract the Realtor while the other goes and snoops through your closets, dressers, desks, jewelry box, etc? If you are planning on having an open house, be sure to put all your valuable positions in secured locations. Don’t forget to hide your prescriptions too, as they are one of the most common items for thieves to steal.

Having said this, there are still some rare occasions when I will recommend holding an open house. When would that be you may ask? Well, that’s for me to go over with my clients. One thing I can tell you is, a good portion of the top producing agents rarely hold open houses. They may have a newer agent, who’s looking for leads, hold one for them (that way they can still appease the seller), but typically you won’t find them sitting around keeping their fingers crossed for a buyer at an open house.

*** There are plenty of good agents that do hold open houses from time to time depending on the individual situation and circumstances (even myself). Some agents even believe open houses are a great marketing tool. Then again, some agents don’t even own a digital camera or cell phone.

-By Robert Young

Copyright 2007, All Rights Reserved

"LIVE" Home Search

Did you know that most real estate websites don't allow you to search for homes in real time. Typically these sites provide you a form to fill out, asking you what your specifications are for the type of home you're looking for. Then, if your lucky, an agent will eventually e-mail you list of homes. Of course, these types of sites also want all of your person information without giving you anything immediately in return. Essentially, all these sites do is have an agent search for you. Don't you want to have the ability to search for yourself?

My website allows you to search in real time from all homes and properties that are currently listed on the market. No matter what real estate company the seller decided to list with, as long as they are a local Realtor member, the home/property will be included in the search. You can even set my website to send you automatic listing updates each time a new home is listed that matches your criteria.

My website allows you to receive search results before ever giving me any of your personal information. To get detailed property information, all you need to do is register one time with your name, number, and e-mail address. Once you've registered, you can return to the site with unlimited access at any time. All you do is type in your e-mail address and the system remembers who you are (no username and password to remember). You can even save your favorite listings right in the system so you don't forget about them.

My website is updated every business day with all the new listings, from every local real estate company (members of the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors). The information comes directly from the MLS, so it includes all the photos, virtual tours, property descriptions, etc. Stop dealing with the agents that want to hassle you and starting dealing with a broker that wants to empower you.

Live Home Search – Grand Rapids Real Estate

Congress Hits Back at the Supreme Court over its Controversial Eminent Domain Decision

by Kenneth R. Harney
(Click above link to see entire article)

The U.S. Supreme Court's controversial June 23 decision on local governments' powers to seize homes has produced a massive backlash in Congress.

Before heading home for the July 4 recess, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution expressing its "grave disapproval" of the Court's decision in Kelo vs. City of New London. The bipartisan vote was 365 to 33. The House also passed an amendment with real teeth -- a prohibition against the use of federal funds in connection with any real estate project where a local government used its eminent domain seizure powers to transfer property from one private owner to another under the banner of "economic development."

The amendment, which passed by a vote of 231-189, was attached to an appropriations bill and now goes to the Senate. The amendment specified federal funds administered by HUD, the Dept. of Transportation and the Treasury.

My first blog post ever. What's a blog?

Just learning what this whole blog thing is about. Looks like it could be a valuable tool for my real estate website. For those of you that are not familiar with what a blog is, here is a definition from dictionary.com (blog is short for weblog):

Main Entry: weblog
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: a personal Web site that provides updated headlines and news articles of other sites that are of interest to the user, also may include journal entries, commentaries and recommendations compiled by the user; also written web log, Weblog; also called blog
Usage: computing