Cover story: Value of open house open to debate

In the age of virtual-reality and video tours of properties, does holding an open house still sell homes? Almost 90 percent of homebuyers start their search for a home by signing onto the Internet, says the National Association of Realtors (NAR), where they find listings with multiple photos, virtual tours and videos.

The NAR reports in its 2009 “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” that 46 percent of buyers go to open houses in their search process. Holding an open house will not necessarily result in a home sale, though, as local Realtors can attest. The NAR reports that 12 percent of homebuyers first learned about the home they bought through a yard sign or an open house.

Realtors have mixed feelings about open houses. Some say firmly that a Sunday-afternoon open house is the best way to showcase a property, while others are less convinced that the traditional open house sells a home. In most cases, Realtors discuss the possibility of holding an open house with the sellers.

Sellers, too, have varied opinions.

“Some sellers don’t want an open house at all, while others only want to have one when the home first goes on the market,” says Bonnie Rivkin, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Alexandria, Va. “A few sellers are adamant that their Realtor hold multiple open houses, but most leave the decision up to their agent.”

Bette Deller, a Realtor with Long & Foster Real Estate in Laurel, Md., says she holds open houses mostly to “keep all the options open.”

“Most Realtors do a bit of everything to market homes. Open houses typically attract first-time lookers who don’t have an agent, so I can sometimes pick up buyer clients at one,” Ms. Deller says. “There are some buyers who don’t have a computer, either, so they are more likely to be seriously looking at open houses.”

Realtor Leslie Hutchison with Re/Max Distinctive Real Estate in McLean, Va., says more than half of the contracts on her listings are from buyers who visit an open house and then return with their agent.

“If I didn’t hold open houses, my business would be down by at least 25 percent,” Mrs. Hutchison says. “Many buyers don’t want to ‘bother’ their agent to show them every house that comes up, and they prefer to take their time looking on their own to check out neighborhoods and schools. If they haven’t seen it, they can’t buy it.”

The effectiveness of the traditional open house is debated by Realtors and sellers, but most agents agree buyers still need to physically visit homes they may want to buy, whether it is during a private visit with their agent or during an open house.

“People like to see, touch and smell a home,” Ms. Rivkin says. “The Internet is a great place to start and to narrow down what you want, but then people really need to see a home in person.”

Mrs. Hutchison agrees that buyers need to use all their senses when making an important decision like buying a home.

“Videos and tours can easily hide an unattractive feature or a boxy, choppy design,” she says. “You can close the drapes in a virtual tour to hide the view of the highway or the dump next door. Most virtual tours will omit the bathroom that needs remodeling or the moldy basement. You can’t smell the stale smoke or cat odor from the photographs.”

Pat Kline, an associate broker with Avery Hess Realtors in Springfield, Va., says serious buyers, those with a preapproved loan and a buyer agent, usually prefer to visit homes with their agent when other potential buyers are not in the property.

“Most sellers don’t really want to have an open house because they know a lot of the traffic is from neighbors, not serious buyers,” Mrs. Kline says. “In my 20 years in real estate, I have only sold two homes through an open house. Holding an open house won’t help a bad listing, and good listings don’t need one.”

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