Open Houses - A Good Real Estate Marketing Tool?

Open Houses - A Good Real Estate Marketing Tool?

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According to an article in The Washington Post, many real estate agents do not see open houses as a good way to sell houses.

Instead, majority of the real estate agents consulted by the publication for their article said that they do them only as a marketing tool rather than as means to sell a house.

The Washington Post said more than 70 percent of the real estate agents involved in the survey organize open houses only to "appease sellers" while more than 50 percent said open houses help them only to generate new contacts. And this was conducted way before online marketing has become common. What triggered the change? And should a real estate agent still conduct an open house?

The change in the trend must have been triggered by the Internet. No surprise there, since the Internet has definitely changed the way people do business. Instead of going to the location itself, potential buyers simply go online to look for properties.

When they see a property they like, they will contact the real estate agent to look at the property themselves. Internet has eliminated the need for open houses-at least from the buyer's point of view. Still, there are some who go to open houses, specifically the older, more mature clientele who are not too technologically savvy or adept.

Some also prefer the old fashioned way of looking for a house. After all, nothing can beat seeing the property up close. Real estate marketing can easily be manipulated to make a property seem more valuable than it is; an open house dispels whatever lies marketing creates.

From the real estate agent's side, they're not really preferred-especially today-because it generates little income and little interest.

Even when taking the whole industry to consideration, they only account to a small percentage of the sales in the real estate business. That's too little chance for an agent to take. Also, the Internet has made the whole deal with transacting with potential clients and buyers different. It is not only convenient to the client but also to the realtor.

Nonetheless, there are many reasons why open houses are done. As mentioned earlier, open houses are done so agents can generate a new list of contacts-a market outside the Internet one.

The real estate agents who said they do open houses to appease owners also said they still do open houses in the hope of making them other properties from you.

The one who doesn't come out satisfied with them are usually the sellers. Sellers think that organizing a open house is still a necessity because it is the only tool of the agent that is tangible to them. However, in the end, the agent is usually the one who comes out with the most afterwards.

Many experts believe that open houses are no longer very effective and are no longer wise, with all the concerns taken to account. New real estate agents may benefit from it, but in the end, a realtor must first know if he or she is doing the open house for the right reasons.

About the Author:
Michael contributes to My Single Property Websites, a web 2.0 marketing tool that lets real estate agents create stunning virtual tours and single property sites easily, with a free version available for listing presentations. He also contributes to the Real Estate Marketing Blogthere.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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