Open Houses are Back!
As of this weekend, Realtors are clear to do open houses again! If you are planning on attending an open house this weekend here’s what you can expect:
1) Lather up – you should be asked to apply hand sanitizer or wash your hands as soon as you arrive
2) Mask up – even if you are vaccinated you will still be asked to wear a mask
3) Sign in – you will be asked to sign a COVID disclosure which will include giving your name and contact information in case it’s needed for contact tracing, ostensibly not marketing
4) Keep social distance – you should still keep 6 feet away from other people in the house. People from the same household should not split up and preview the house in a ‘pod’
5) Viewing limits – Realtors may keep attendees down to three households at a time. That way people will be better able to maintain distances
I’ve got a new listing coming on the market today at 366 Arias St in Terra Linda. I’ve spoken with the sellers and while the house is not occupied, they would prefer not to have the house open to the public. In a previous blog I posted some very good reasons for replacing open houses with appointment only viewings, so I’m happy to keep showing by appointment only rather than opening the home to the general public on a weekend afternoon.
Meanwhile excitement is building among real estate professionals to do open houses. Some agents are very good at holding open houses, and when I say that I mean they are able to pickup additional business by holding their homes open. Our fiduciary duty to our sellers is always to try to sell their home first, but not every home is right for every buyer. If it looks like a potential buyer is not going to make an offer on a house that’s being held open, it’s typical for the Realtor holding the house open to offer to show the buyers other homes.
After 17 years in the business, I know my strengths, and picking up new buyers at open houses is not one of them. Over the years I’ve met sellers at open houses who have worked with me. In fact, my current sellers at 366 Arias walked into my open house last January at 336 Arias and invited me to preview their house down the street. At the time their house was a mess, the tenant had moved out and the home was in quite original condition. Over the course of the past year, they’ve ended up doing a lot of remodeling and increased the home’s value substantially.
Attracting buyers at open houses is another story. The vast majority of my business is representing sellers. Although I’m not adverse to working with buyers and enjoy the process, I’m always more focused on selling the house I’ve got open than attracting new clients. A quick look at my sales since the beginning of 2015 show only 14 transactions with buyers, about 2 buyers per year, and they were a mix of referrals and people who read my newsletter. Over the same period of time, I’ve closed 75 transactions for sellers, about a dozen per year.
As of Thursday afternoon 5/20/21, we have 38 Marin open houses listed in the MLS this coming weekend. That number is likely to increase between now and Sunday. I’m betting by next weekend we’ll have at least double that number of open homes. While many Realtors will be looking to attract more business this weekend, I’ve only got one goal in mind: selling 366 Arias Street.