Who Benefits from an Open House?

The open house is an age-old real estate tradition. The idea of prospective buyers taking a peek at your home and what it has to offer them is a classic picture of the real estate industry.

But in today's Internet orientated and fast paced world, are the benefits of the open house still worth your time? The answer is a difficult one to examine and is also dependant on the area you live in and the relationship that you have with your real estate agent.

Who's Looking

Nobody can doubt that having people come look at your house can generate a large amount of interest in your property, but with society as it is today the seller and real estate agent must be confident that the people looking around are actually interested parties and not people who are solely there for mischievous, alternative reasons.

This security concern is one major headache an open house can bring and as such if you decide to hold an open house viewing you should always remove any valuables and sentimental objects from the premises.

Serious Buyers Only

To maximize the impact of an open house discuss with your realtor or estate agent what is the best way, or ways, to publicize the event so that only serious people turn up and look around your home.

Besides the obvious benefits of publicizing your house there is not much else that an open house can bring to the selling process and you should decide whether it is worth all the hassle and stress, or whether other methods of advertising will be sufficient to generate serious interest in your house.

If you do decide to go ahead with an open house showing you should remember that a polished house on the outside and inside will sell better than one that looks drab.