Like much of today’s world, open houses are a hybrid of scheduled in-person events and online resources that can be accessed any time. This mixture can give sellers like you more freedom in how thoroughly you want to clean and stage your house. It also gives buyers the chance to window-shop online before making time for an in-person visit. Attracting buyers both online and offline is new territory for first-time sellers as well as those who have not sold a home recently. If you don’t manage to catch buyers' eyes online first, it is less likely that they will make the effort to go see it in person. As with any new technological trend, attracting people to your open house online comes with its own guidelines and tips to ensure that you, the seller, are able to make a lasting impression and get potential buyers in the door!

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1) Mix Up Your Marketing Tactics

These days, it is safe to say that most buyers are beginning their home search online. For this reason, it is crucial that you and your agent are able to create an eye-catching presence for your home online, while also being attentive to solid, reliable offline marketing materials such as lawn signs and flyers. When listing your home online, it’s best to cast the widest net possible. Make sure that your agent adds your home’s profile and photos on multiple listing websites and adds it to the MLS. From there, you can publish your home’s open house availability on sites like Nextdoor and neighborhood email lists. Put out lawn signs and fliers and hang posters around major intersections in the area. You’ll want to make it easy for people who saw your home online—or who are just driving around—to find your home and stop in for a tour at the appropriate time. In addition, encourage neighbors to stop by your open house, though they may have no intention of buying (your agent can help with this). Their impression and positive word of mouth can spread the word to friends and family who could become potential buyers. And it always looks good to have a big crowd at your open house!

2) Timing Is Everything

When deciding which day of the week to host your open houses, pick a day and time that will be convenient and accessible for most people. Because people are commuting, working, making grocery runs, or taking kids to school, weekdays are not ideal. Weekends, specifically Sundays, are thought to be most desirable. Most people have Sunday free to visit multiple open houses or spend quality time at one open house. In large metropolitan areas where traffic is heavy even on weekends, have your open house earlier in the day. As for suburban homes, afternoon open houses are typically more appealing and fit the laid back atmosphere of these neighborhoods.

3) Make Your Home Look Inviting

When it comes to tackling the cleaning and staging aspect of preparing for your open house, just remember that first impressions are everything! For this reason, be sure to pay close attention to the home’s exterior and the presentation of the entrance. The inside of your home should feel clean, bright, and minimally furnished, with most, if not all, personal items being tucked away. This will give potential buyers the opportunity to envision themselves within the neutral, depersonalized space. Be sure to ask your realtor which rooms or specific features in the home are most important and aim to highlight those spaces through good staging and pristine cleaning. Secondary rooms can be more simplified and sparse, leaving more up to the buyer's imagination. To read more about tips for depersonalizing a home, check out our Freemodel blog post on the topic!

4) On Open House Day, Stay Away!

This might come as a surprise for first-time sellers, but agents typically prefer that you are completely out of the house during showings. This is prescribed for many reasons. Agents avoid having prospective buyers meet homeowners upon initial viewing, so as to not cloud buyers’ judgment or feelings about the property. Agents also want to be able to speak candidly with buyers about any problems with the home or address their concerns, which is something that sellers might want to weigh in on or minimize to buyers. Lastly, having the seller absent from showings really allows potential buyers to put themselves in the space and envision their lives and decor styles fitting within the walls. Rather than having potential buyers think about your current life in the home, allow them to focus on their potential future there!

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In summary, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to attracting buyers to your open house. Marketing, cleaning, staging, and timing aspects will all be important when it comes to sticking the landing on the perfect presentation. It is important to nurture your home's accessibility both online and offline through listing on multiple platforms and clean-cut physical marketing materials. Your home’s availability should ideally work with average people’s nine-to-five work schedules and should reflect busy traffic times in your town. When it comes to prepping each room for viewing, don’t sweat the small details. Work with your agent to identify and highlight the most important rooms and impressive aspects of the home and leave the rest up to the buyers’ imaginations. In teaming up with Freemodel, you can also have access to a specialized Project Director who will be able to give your home the most essential upgrades to ensure that it sells for top dollar. From full-on remodels to smaller home upgrades to expert interior design infusions, our service can help make your home improvement and open house efforts worthwhile, resulting in a sale with a high return on your investment!