The best way to show a home is when it’s unoccupied. The next best thing is when the sellers take a weekend away so their Realtor can show the house freely. If the sellers can’t get away for a weekend, then there is a possibility they will be in and out with each appointment, but a better way would be at least to take a couple of day trips to free up the house. In the era of COVID it’s probably better for sellers to not be around anyway, even with the precautions we take.
There is an issue that you never know how many Realtors are going to make appointments to see the house on the opening weekend. Last summer I had a seller go away for the weekend expecting a throngs of homebuyers to come forward and make appointments. We got two showings. Those two showings turned into one good offer. How’s that for efficiency in real estate sales? When my client was away Friday through Sunday and my phone wasn’t ringing I was getting nervous. But the old saying in real estate sales is it just takes one buyer to walk in and fall in love, and that’s what happened. My seller really didn’t need to go away in that situation, but she had a good time staying with friends for two nights. The weekend getaway while your house sells plan is often a well earned respite from the tasks that were tackled getting the house on the market. Sellers deserve and sometimes need a break, and it’s probably pretty good for a their mental health.
The old way or showing a home was to have one or two open houses on Saturday and/or Sunday, either 1-4pm or 2-4pm. You’d have the house open to anyone and everyone, often with the proverbial ‘nosey neighbors’ trying to get a peak at what you did with the house. I’ll admit I've been a nosey neighbor, I’ve gotten lots of great ideas by looking at what other people have done with their homes. The problem with open houses was people like me. Having someone like me in your house, a non-home buyer, detracted from the actual home buyers.
A far more effective way to show a house is by appointment only with one set of buyers and their Realtor. Because of COVID this is still the only way we can show a house, and I’m not sure if I’ll be recommending open houses for my sellers in the post COVID world. Realtors will tell you open houses are a great way to meet the neighbors and hopefully get more business. I’ve heard some non-buyers make less than flattering comments which real buyers have overheard. Open houses are just not all that they are cracked up to be. I think buyers appreciate having homes to themselves, it gives them time to think without distractions.
In our current white hot market I’ve been getting between 20-40 showings on homes before looking at offers. That’s 20-40 real buyers, translating into 20-40 real opportunities to attract offers without the distractions of an open house. With such a tremendous volume of showings in our 2021 market it makes the most sense for sellers to take a weekend away, rather having to come in and out with each appointment and constantly having to keep the house show ready. Seller should go down to Carmel, stay at a bed in breakfast in the wine country or just go visit some friends out of town. I haven’t had a seller regret taking advantage of that getaway opportunity yet.