As a real estate agent, you have a powerful tool to generate leads and connect personally with potential buyers: the open house. Your open house does more than show off a new listing. It gives you a chance to create a memorable experience that will stick with prospective buyers long after they drive away from the property. In today’s competitive market, saying, “Hello, take a look around and let me know if you have any questions,” is just the start. Successful agents work hard to stand out and present open house ideas their visitors will remember.
Read on to learn more about picking the right time, getting the word out, and taking steps to ensure that your open house is a unique and appealing event that will attract potential clients. Real estate agents will leave with new ideas to make their next open house a big hit and draw in lots of interest from potential clients.
- Picking the Right Time and Getting the Word Out for Your Open House
- Seasonal Considerations
- Multi-Channel Marketing
- Creating a Memorable Open House Experience
- Teaming Up with Local Partners
- Supporting the Community at Your Open House
- Exploring New Ways to Get Leads
- Encouraging information sharing with rewards
- FAQs About Open House Ideas for Real Estate Agents
Picking the Right Time and Getting the Word Out for Your Open House
Hosting a successful open house matters a lot on the journey to a successful sale. Listing agents should think about weekends. Traditionally, weekends are the best days – aim for a 2-4 hour slot on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The best time being between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Weekday evenings can also be a consideration but you may not get the best results. Make this a standing item on your listing checklist so you never forget.
Consider hosting a separate open house for other agents and brokers in the real estate business. This gives them a chance to preview the property and alert their clients ahead of the public open house. Working together with your fellow professionals can speed up the sale of your client’s property.
Take note of any sports events, art shows, theater performances, and county fairs on the day of the open house. These events might draw your target audience away. You can only dodge some of them. It might help to have a TV with the football game on, especially if there’s a big fan base in the area. And, of course, you’ll want to avoid any major holidays.
Seasonal Considerations
You can hold open houses all year long. Come prepared with a few extra door mats in the winter. Create a spot for open house guests to remove their footwear, especially if the weather is poor. Make the most of the cold weather. Focus on highlighting cozy nooks in the home with candles, fresh-baked cookies, and hot cocoa. Make the exterior as welcoming as possible. Clearing snow from the walkway and driveway and putting salt to melt the ice helps people safely get inside.
During the warm seasons, open house visitors appreciate stepping into a cool house with A/C and ceiling fans turned on. Offering guests a cold water bottle is a nice touch. They may feel encouraged to stay longer and enjoy learning about the home.
Multi-Channel Marketing
Successful agents market their properties in many different ways to attract more visitors to their open houses and connect with prospective buyers. This means using both online methods and old-school tactics to reach out to agents, neighbors, local businesses, and others in the community.
Here are some marketing tactics that work well:
- Digital Promotion: Advertise the open house on real estate websites such as Realtor.com, Zillow, and Trulia, as well as your brokerage’s website. As a REALTOR®, you can advertise on the National Association of REALTORS® website. This can draw nationwide interest in pricey properties in major cities.Featuring the open house on your website or the property’s web page will make it easy for potential buyers to find the date and time. You can write a blog post about the property to promote it and point out its unique features.
- Social Media: Create and share event pages on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Be sure to include local hashtags to boost visibility. Consider a Facebook live stream to offer a virtual tour and showcase the home’s distinctive features.
- Email Marketing: Send an invitation to the open house to the contacts on your email list. Your email invitation can create pre-open house excitement and may even lead to offers on the same day.
- Direct Mail: An old-school flier to announce the open house (with your business card attached) can be a powerful marketing tool. Distribute or mail flyers to people in the area – you never know who might be thinking about moving, and neighbors may have friends or coworkers looking to move into the area. Include local businesses on your list in case they are hiring or relocating staff.
- Signage: Post open house signs in front of the home and at key intersections around the neighborhood to let people know when the open house is happening. This will draw in “nosy neighbors,” who are often great advocates for the neighborhood. Door hangers a few days ahead can help promote and announce the open house.
With these methods, you can create a complete marketing plan to reach both agents and prospective buyers and boost the success of your open house event.
Creating a Memorable Open House Experience
Making your open house memorable in the home-buying process involves more than simply tidying up and throwing the doors open for people to walk through the home. Real estate professionals can use sensory marketing techniques and stage the home to tell a story that will leave a lasting impact on prospective buyers.
Sensory marketing strategies
Making your open house memorable in the home-buying process involves more than simply tidying up and throwing the doors open for people to walk through the home. Real estate professionals can use sensory marketing techniques and stage the home to tell a story that will leave a lasting impact on prospective buyers.
Scents to help relax and comfort
- Picking the right scent for an open house matters a lot. Take a mountain property, for instance. The smell of fresh pine and cedar helps create a sense of peace and calm and reminds the guests that the joys of the great outdoors are close at hand. Warm baking scents, such as bread or cookies fresh from the oven, can suggest feelings of happiness and security, a nice vibe for any open house.
Sounds to inspire and encourage
- Sound can create a relaxing and fun atmosphere while people check out what the home has to offer. Studies have shown that upbeat music might encourage folks to make up their minds faster. But be careful… it might also move them faster through their tour and back out the door.
Staging to set the look
Visual appeal is the most important sensory factor. It impacts home buyers 90% more than other senses. When you stage a room with warm, neutral colors and attractive children’s furniture, a buyer can imagine it as their child’s bedroom. Think about how best to stage a casual sitting area in the living room or fancy place settings in the dining room. Careful staging might seem to add beauty to the home, but it also helps buyers imagine themselves sitting there among their personal treasures had they already moved in.
Make it immersive
- A virtual 360° tour can create an immersive experience for both open house visitors and those viewing the home virtually. Visitors can take a virtual “walk” through each room and view virtual staging, inspiring them with ideas about what furniture will fill the space and how they might actually live in each area of the home.
- In your promotional materials, provide detailed information about the home, including square footage, floor plans, price range, basic information like the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, unique features, school district information, neighborhood stores and services, and key employers in the surrounding area.
- An interested buyer takes home the information packet, and it can be critical for them to submit an offer long after the open house.
Blend sensory marketing with memorable storytelling to create an all-encompassing property experience that strikes a chord with serious buyers and creates a good chance of receiving the right offer to close the deal.
Teaming Up with Local Partners
Real estate agents can improve their open house events by teaming up with local businesses and community groups. These partnerships add value to the event, create visibility for all participants, and are a good way to grow your network and profile in the community.
Partner with community leaders
A regular open house will be more fun and memorable if you can partner with local businesses like coffee shops, home decor boutiques, or restaurants. Your partners will have an opportunity to offer samples or small promotional items and chat with visitors. Real estate agents can partner with local shops, coffee shops, restaurants, or cafes to host events or give out promotional items or small samples.
When you co-promote the open house with these small business partners, you’ll be able to boost foot traffic and create a win-win situation for everyone. You’ll also add value for the open house guests and interested parties.
Agents also have the chance to work with other industry professionals, such as mortgage lenders, home inspectors, builders, and home stagers. By sending clients to trusted partners, agents can build a network where everyone refers clients to each other. This approach benefits all involved.
Real Estate Agents should be sure to invite friends and family members to your open house. They want to support your business, and their personal networks could help you reach a wider audience for your listing.
Supporting the Community at Your Open House
During your open house, bringing attention to local community causes and activities can boost your reputation as an agent. Such events can even attract new clients. One good plan is to use the open house to collect money for a local charity. This shows that the agent cares about the community and draws in potential clients who care about the same things.
Supporting area schools is another great way to connect with families and show that you’re invested in the community. Agents can back school sports teams, give career talks, or throw parties to thank teachers. These actions build community awareness and trust, leading to more business over time.
Real estate agents can generate extra excitement for your open house by inviting local artists or musicians to participate by displaying work or performing.
With creative local collaborations, real estate agents can host unique open houses. The community focus will attract attention in a competitive market and generate valuable leads.
Exploring New Ways to Get Leads
Digital check-ins
Explore your options for using tech tools to capture leads more efficiently at open houses. Instead of signing in with pen and paper, consider offering a QR code so visitors can sign in on their phones. Or have a tablet available for sign-ins. This will save much time after the event and spare the frustration of interpreting messy handwriting.
Tech-loving clients like digital tools, so you’ll stand out with that group. Although it’s important to offer traditional sign-in methods for people who prefer them. Some digital check-in options are touchless, which is appealing to anyone who is extra concerned about cleanliness. Look for an app that works with your systems. One that automatically imports the prospective buyer’s contact information and phone numbers into your customer relationship management (CRM) system, so you can easily follow up and grow your base of leads.
Encouraging information sharing with rewards
Some people at open houses might not want to give their contact details. Plan for this – and build more excitement for your open house – by offering tempting perks. A small gift can make a big difference.
As people leave, give them some items with your brand, like pens, notepads, water bottles, custom cups, and keychains. Anything with your info on it will help you stick in your guests’ minds. Even if they don’t buy the house you’re showing, it might be enough to help them remember you when they need an agent’s services.
Prepare goodie bags
To make promotional items easier to grab and go, fill gift bags with a mix of treats for guests. Popular items for gift bags include promo stuff like key rings or fridge magnets. You can get personalized mints, chocolates, or snacks to add to the bag. You could also put in a wrapped cookie from a local bakery. Check with businesses nearby to see if they have samples or discount coupons to add.
Hold a raffle
Draw people to your open house with a raffle. Buy prizes in bulk that show off your brand. Think personal Bluetooth speakers, tote or duffel bags, baseball caps, or fanny packs. Local shops might want to chip in an item for the prize. In return, offer to add their flyers to your goodie bags or info packet. Spread the word about the raffle in your invite and on social media. These more expensive items may seem unnecessary, but remember that promotional items can be deducted from taxes as marketing expenses.
Wrapping Up Your Open House Strategy
In the real estate industry, open houses have long been an effective tactic in the marketing playbook. Agents can leverage their upcoming open houses to gather short-term and long-term leads and create a lasting impression with every visitor. Agents can turn regular property showings and open houses into events people remember. By using smart timing, creating immersive experiences, teaming up with local businesses, and adding fun incentives to capture leads. These strategies greatly affect serious buyers. Being remembered helps agents stand out in a competitive market and build strong ties in their communities.
It’s important to maintain an adaptive and creative mindset to pave your way to success in a real estate market that is always shifting. These fresh open-house ideas for real estate agents puts you a step or two ahead of agents who are simply following the standard marketing materials. Smart agents are always looking for the easiest ways to improve their client service and business processes … If you want to ensure a smooth showing process every time, Showami has a full showing agent service across the US with an easy system. Showami makes it simpler to do showings when you can’t be there.
FAQs About Open House Ideas for Real Estate Agents
You need to make a good impression before and after the event. Here are some open house ideas for real estate agents: ask neighbors to come, offer to run open houses for other agents, know what you want to achieve, make sure people can check in online, use nice smells, play some music in the background, and use videos to get the word out about the event.
To make your open house catch people’s eye, try these ideas: get the word out on social media, use videos and virtual tours, ask local folks to come, put up a sign showing cool stuff in the neighborhood, set up fun things for guests to do, hand out free food or goodies(swag), offer snacks and drinks. One last thing: you want to remember to reach out to people who came after the event.
The property’s location has a big impact on attendance. Houses on busy streets, high-traffic areas, and near shops or workplaces tend to catch more eyes. Also, having easy parking nearby helps bring in attendees. With these open house ideas for real estate agents, you can draw in people who want to see a unique open house event.
Real estate agents use several methods to find leads including:
Knocking on doors
Making cold calls
Sending direct mail with business cards
Keeping in touch with past clients
Looking for For Sale By Owner (FSBO) and expired listings
Using client lists from former coworkers
Marketing and advertising on social media channels
Open house ideas for real estate agents