Dear Dave,

Our house has been for sale for about 2 months now. It is in a higher price bracket and we aren’t having many showings at all. What is your opinion on open houses this time of year? Are they worth the work and the hassle for us and our Realtor?

We would appreciate your opinion.

Thanks,

Bob - Montrose, CO

Bob,

I believe this to be our first question from Montrose, thus I can’t resist a quick answer. Open houses are not a significant part of our marketing efforts, not because we don’t want to sell houses, but because they are not statistically effective at selling houses. Open houses are a very good place for real estate agents to meet new home buyers and sellers and add them to their client list, however they are low on the impact meter for directly impacting home sales.

“Open houses are a very good place for real estate agents to meet new home buyers and sellers and add them to their client list, however they are low on the impact meter for directly impacting home sales.”

In summary, it is my opinion that open houses are overall fairly benign as a marketing tool. If you and your agent want to have one then you should have one, as any activity is at least “activity”… you know the blind hog theory? To that end, I would advise you to not hold your breath while you are away from home that Sunday afternoon, as it is statistically not probable to produce a sale, but it may help get you more traffic through you home if traffic is what you are looking to achieve. Realize the open house is another tool to potentially sell and advertise your home, however like most marketing methods it will not be the silver bullet you are likely wanting it to be. Try to be patient, we are just about to enter prime selling season…Winter is almost in the rear view mirror!

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team