Open Houses in Idaho >> This new twist has revived them!
Over the years the internet has caused more and more people to use the world wide web to search for homes. Over the past several years print advertising and open houses just have not worked the way they have in the past. In fact open houses the past 2-3 years have been disasters with either no one showing up or just a bored neighbor visiting at best. You see with "Virtual Tours" available on the internet a visitor can almost walk through a home without leaving the comfort of their home.
One of my current sellers asked me last weekend if she could borrow my open house signs. It turns out the development she lives was having a "neighborhood yard sale" with many residents participating in yard sales at the same time on Saturday. My seller put out the open house signs early that morning and I did not expect the report I was given by my seller the following Monday morning. My seller said ten couples came through and 2 or 3 couples showed serious interest in the home! It has been a good 5-6 years the last time I heard of that kind of traffic at an open house!
I recalled reading a blog on Active Rain where one member in Colorado had very successful open houses by having a community yard sale with a new twist. The neighborhood agreed to donate a percentage of their profits to charity. They then contacted a popular radio station to broadcast the event. You can imagine the traffic this event brought in! The Realtor reported more than 30+ people through each of the three open houses they had that day.
This has all changed my mind about how I view open houses. The next time you are considering an open house gather the neighborhood troops and you just may generate some incredible traffic!
Happy Open House! 