I was just reading a comment posted yesterday on this article from Matthew Ferrara about Customers to REALTORS: Open Houses Suck and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the length of time some agents are spending at open homes and got me thinking about how long an open home should be.
Dan posted “They should not simply disappear – I just can’t understand why we are so eager to put our interests above that of our client by kicking them out for 3 hours every weekend while we open their door to the strangers of the world…enticing them inside with cookies!”
Do some real estate agents really sit an an open house for 3 hours at a time?
If so, under normal circumstances these agents will probably find that most people will either be really keen and turn up early, waiting for the agent to turn up or others normally arrive right at the very end of the open home time.
Which means that in most instances the real estate agent is wasting about 2 to 2 1/2 hours babysitting the house.
Now with people seeing so much more on the internet before inspecting a property everything part of the typical way an agent does things has changed & it’s important for agent’s to look at how they can be most effective and efficient with their time.
Previously, the maximum time I’d ever dedicate to an open home was 45 minutes, but now that everybody is even more time poor I believe that a 30 minute open home will create a real buzz around a home with the early birds & the late-comers all turning up around the same time, which also increases the chance of success.
A high energy, high impact open home with a bit of buzz around it also helps an agent to show social proof that there is some interest in the home, which could be helpful come offer time, especially if your trying to build a sense of urgency into the negotiation process.
Shorter open homes will be more efficient for the agent, allowing them to open more homes on the same day and should keep the agent’s energy levels high, rather than falling asleep or twiddling their thumbs whilst sitting at a house for 3 hours.
Real estate agents should take a look at what’s currently happening within the rental departments across the nation. Due to the huge demand for rental property, for efficiency, Property Managers are doing 15 minute open homes and collect all the applications collectively. They regularly turn up with streets lined with cars for people wanting to take a look inside.
Surely, 30 minutes should be enough time for a highly paid real estate agent to sit at an open home.
What do you think? How long should an open home be?
For a number of years we have conducted OFI for 30 minutes and found this to be the best use of our time. With advertising via our in house database and advertising in the local paper potential buyers arrive on time. Last weekend we had 9 to 10 groups at most of our OFI
Comment posted January 13, 2010 @ 12:57 pm
I whole heartedly agree with you Greg. Any open over 45 mins is a waste of time for a Residential home.
My belief is a 30 minute advertised open home on Saturday is perfect, and allowing qualified buyers through by appointment at other times if they cannot make the open.
You can then allow for an extra 15 minutes at the end of the open, should any last minute stragglers arrive. This avoids the awkward removal of potential purchasers, and at times even get’s gratitude for allowing late comers.
Comment posted January 13, 2010 @ 1:14 pm
Chris & Jim, I couldn’t believe that an agent could sit in a home for 3 hours waiting for a buyer. It’s definitely not the best use of an agents time.
With the 45 minute Open Homes, I often found that a late-comer would turn up & I’d have to rush them through the property & end up being late for the next open scheduled 15 minutes later.
Whereas, with 30 minute OFI’s there’s time to deal with interested buyers & late comers & still deal with other office phone-in enquiries before the next inspection.
Comment posted January 13, 2010 @ 6:15 pm
In our property management business we have Been doing 10 min Inspections for over 12 months, but we only do Inspections on the hour & half hour ie 10am & 10.30am. By doing this way it gives you enough time to get between Inspections & still have enough time to open & close up. Another thing I trialled in sales about 8 years ago is to only advertise the start time of the open. Buyers would be all there right on time because they were not sure how long the open was for. If you had a great turn out you could take your time. if was quiet you didn’t have to wait around for 45 minutes. You would find buyers you schedule your ofi before other agents ofi’s because they knew they had a 45 minute gap to get to the other property.
Comment posted January 13, 2010 @ 9:24 pm
30 Mins has always been the way forward for me - I have been known to do 2 open homes at one house on the same afternoon i.e 1.00pm - 1.30pm then 3.00pm - 3.30pm, depends on what other properties are on the market in the same area….
Comment posted January 27, 2010 @ 6:07 pm
Greg
The shorter the better. Public Trust Opens generally run for 15 mins midweek and the buyers flock through. I guarantee that most buyers will time their run to be there in the final minutes anyhow.
Comment posted February 3, 2010 @ 6:25 am
I’ve done them for 30 mins for 13 years. I’d love to rock the boat and do 15 mins only. The effect would be more excitement and better efficiency all round.
Comment posted February 5, 2010 @ 8:03 pm
Steve, I think you could get away with 15 minutes, I know that’s what property managers do. Let’s face it if you provide enough content on the web, most buyers will be inspecting the home simply to validate what you’ve described on the web is in fact how it is in reality.
A 20 minute Open Home might be the solution? Leave 20 minutes in between them & that way you can easily get 2 Open Homes done per hour & still have time for the late comers & getting across to the next Open Home in time.
Comment posted February 8, 2010 @ 5:04 pm