Open house?
 

Our home is currently listed for sale here in The Villages. Our agent is strongly encouraging us the let her schedule an open house. I have been told in the past by other realtors(outside The Villages) that open houses seldom lead to the sale of a house but are primarily for the agent to develop new leads. But maybe things work differently here. I am wondering how many people here successfully have sold their homes with an open house.

Sold mine at a open house

sold mine at an open house too - the very first one! good luck

We purchased our house at an open house. We happened to be coming back from swimming, we were renting in the area. Saw an open house sign and stopped in. That house was not what we wanted but the agent said her husband was having one just a few blocks away, so we stopped by there. We liked this one very much and signed the papers immediately. While we were there two more buyers came by and when they saw we were signing, they just put their heads down and left.

how will a potential buyer get an idea of how it looks inside without an open house? perhaps there are some folks that buy sight unseen, but it seems to be the norm to have an open house...in Maine there were a lot of open houses(ours included). you can't tell enough about a place by photos alone(imo).

House across the street from us had an open house in the morning and a pending sign in the afternoon.

I bought a $350,000 condo ( not here) at an open house and sold 2 homes to people who came to an open house in the villages

Ummm, make an appt with the listing agent to see the home. And have the agents full attention in a private showing.

Three ways:

1. a normal photo upload to the realtor's website (which is then available on zillow, realtor(dot) com, trulia, and all the other MLS listing sites) - or on the Homes in the Villages page, at which point it wouldn't be available for viewing anywhere OTHER than that.

2. a virtual tour, available as mentioned in #1.

3. a 3D virtual tour, available as mentioned in #1.

Here's a 3D one, it's pretty cool: 1703 Lauren Ln, The Villages, FL, 32159 | realtor.com(R)

Open house was a waste of time when we sold our house in NJ. You get a lot of nosy neighbors.

. . .

listen to your listing agent...they are the professional, they have the most knowledge of what is working in your area at your price point....so, let them use all the tools that they have available to sell your home.

we sold a home as a result of an open house...it does work

Staging makes a huge difference too

I would definitely do several open houses.

Why do you think the developer does them every day?

One thing I would not allow is a new gimmick called virtual staging. Last year, an agent showed me a house that had nice, consistent tile flooring throughout. A week of so later, I was looking at the online photos and noticed that they had replaced the tile flooring with wood laminate and installed wall mounted shelving in the den. It turns out that none of this work had been done. It was virtual staging. I hope the agent doesn't charge extra for that.

The most important thing you said was "New Leads". So they might not sell your home at your open house, but maybe a lead at another open house they held last week was the one that will sell yours. Realtors live by leads.

I would highly recommend it. I’ve sold 2 with an open house.

The big advantage to the agent is an exclusive sale.
Selling at an open house there is no commission split with another realtor.

Open house is 5he way to go. Listen to the professional you hired.

I think you’re very lucky. I kept asking my realtor to do an open house and she wouldn’t. My next door neighbors sold their house during an open house.

We found our house by touring an open house!

An open house is one of the agents tools. Don’t hire somebody to do a job for you and then take their tools away.

Would you buy a quarter of a million or half a million dollar item without looking at it? And having a professional show you around? I think even though it does give Realtors leads it also is an opportunity to have someone walk through and see your home and maybe tell others about it if they don't buy

Open house - No thanks
 

We've bought and sold many homes (7 transactions in 22 years, only one in TV). We had one open house as a seller. Open house was never a factor for us. In my humble opinion the undivided attention of the realtor(s) during a scheduled showing is more useful for the sale.

Open house during pandemic: What safety measures will be in place? Masks on everyone agent especially at all times.
People coming through touching? Who is wiping everything clean after. Would you be comfortable touching your light switches or door handles after many strangers did? Who coughed without the mask and wiped hands on back of your chair? Not concerned about virus loads being left behind then yes go for it. Just think it over.

Good way for all the sightseers and neighbors to see your house. With all the on line stuff, you can see pictures of any house up for sale. A serious buyer would just have to call your agent or theirs to get a private viewing. Staging an empty house can be done beautifully. Why have troops of strangers going through your house dirtying up the floors?

Open houses do sell homes. They create more exposure. Many times someone will come in and look and leave but call their representative to write an offer. You probably have a 25% greater chance of selling if you have open houses. But of course price and staging are still the two most important things.

One of those leads might be a buyer for your house

What do you have to lose?

25%? Interesting

Ummmm. So the seller will have to schedule numerous “private showings” instead of one open house. Ya. That makes sense

Ours sold at the first Open House. And it was friends searching for someone out of state. They walked around showing her video and she bought it!

We have purchased two homes as a result of attending an open house

Whats the down side of an open house? You have to leave for a few hours? Take a drive to Tampa, find a nice outdoor restaurant.

I went to an open house with my friend and she purchased it that day.
Also when I sold my condo (in another State) it was sold from an open house.

To some degree it depends on your house and the price. I have seen open houses where the house sold within a day. I have seen other homes that seem to have an open house every week for months and never sell.

With good advertising an open house will bring many buyers who are looking.

When we were renting for a month- we went to all the open houses we could. I think in TV-open houses are very important. The renters are definitely out looking to buy

I bought our house from coming to the open house. Would not have seen it nor bought it if not for the open house.

Our realtor was going to schedule an open house a few days after we signed the listing agreement. But he scheduled four appointments with his “leads” on the next day. We had a cash full price offer by the next afternoon.

Realtors do need those leads if they are to be effective in selling houses. Those that have the most leads are often the most successful.

And before someone comments, I had done my own research, and along with the comparables provided by the realtor, I set the asking price myself. We were both surprised and very pleased that our realtor had a full book of leads.

We sold 3 homes within 3 months in late 2019 and early 2020, all over asking within hours of going live. Two were in NE and one in The Villages. We had 3 different Realtors and all scheduled open houses for the first weekend after going live. Obviously, open houses seem to be the norm and attract buyers. We were fortunate to have sold prior to the scheduled open houses.
This is a busy time of year for potential buyers in The Villages and many focus on open houses to find their dream home. I believe open houses are valuable here.
That being said, preparing the home for sale is the most important thing you can do to sell quickly. A clean, uncluttered home will sell faster than a home where no attention to detail was taken. Remember, less is more when selling as it’s easier for buyers to envision themselves living there and creates a roomier, inviting atmosphere. These homes are typically smaller than those up north and afford little storage. Having less “stuff” creates the illusion of a bigger space. Happy selling and best of luck!