Successful open day viewings to maximise your home's potential whilst keeping your sanity
As the property market continues to rise and viewing numbers are super high, many sellers opt for open house viewings. Open viewings are a great strategy to use when selling your home. But there are also greater benefits than just your own time management.
As the property market continues to rise and viewing numbers are super high, many sellers opt for open house viewings.
Open viewings are a great strategy to use when selling your home.
It makes sense, doesn't it? You could either spend your whole life showing people your home individually or arrange for one big day of viewings and have them all done in one fell swoop.
But there are also greater benefits than just your own time management.
The buzz and hype created when marketing a property with an open-day strategy can often encourage more viewings than you might otherwise have had.
And with all of that extra interest usually comes offers. The main aim of marketing a property is to get offers, so if there is a way that you can almost guarantee to receive offers, why wouldn't you do that?
The main aim of an open house viewing is to get your home into the minds of as many potential buyers as possible. The more viewers you have when selling your home, the more likely you are to sell. No one will buy a property without looking at it, so the first step is to get those viewings booked.
When the market is very buoyant, buyers have a sense of urgency - they might miss out on the property if they don't view it as soon as it comes on the market. That urgency creates a buzz and frenzy with buyers for all new instructions, which pulls in the offers.
But, the property market won't stay busy forever. What about when things start to cool off a little? Perhaps as winter draws in, or when there are political shifts or financial and economic changes in the world, buyers will slow down a little. The frenzy will return to a gentle buzz instead.
How can you generate many viewers then and create that sense of urgency that will ensure you get offers quickly?
The answer is open-day viewings.
Whilst the market is bustling, holding an open day for viewings is more efficient. Simply book as many parties as possible in a short time, so your viewings take place across one weekend. Everyone gets to see the property as soon as it is launched, and no one is left disappointed. And you and your estate agent are not completely frazzled by hosting 50 individual viewing appointments.
But, as things begin to cool and the market slows down slightly, open-day viewings can recreate that same level of urgency.
Why? Because you are taking control of when a potential buyer can view the property.
There is a pre-set date for viewings. Not when each individual viewer is available but when you and your agent are available to host.
Set aside a Saturday afternoon when the majority of buyers are available, and give plenty of notice for the open day so that your viewers can make arrangements in time and then have all appointments at the same time.
This is streamlined and efficient for you and the agent, giving you a much more pleasant experience. You can deep clean the home and stage with fresh flowers and soft background music, ensuring everything is just right.
And you only have to do that once.
Inevitably, life gets in the way and whilst your first viewers may be met with the perfectly presented home, after a few weeks of viewings every couple of days, you'll inevitably not be putting on the best show for viewer number 15. So, all viewers will get the same property to view, and you know that they all saw your home at its best.
And looking at buyer psychology a little bit, the open day strategy helps to show the viewers that there are potentially other interested parties in the property. It reaffirms to the viewers that the property is desirable. They know other people want to view it, so if they decide to offer, they know they are not overpaying or buying a property that will be unsaleable in the future.
So, what should you do?
You should set aside a weekend to host as many viewings as possible within a set window. Your agent should launch your property to the market with the set date for viewings. It needs to be well publicised and drum up as many interested parties from their database as possible.
Then prepare your home for the open day.
- Hide valuables/heirlooms/sentimental items
- Declutter like you've never decluttered before
- Deep clean - in all the nooks and crannies
- Fresh flowers in as many rooms as possible
- Set the scene - if you have a lovely outdoor dining space, show it off by setting the table or putting out a jug of iced lemon water and glasses. If you have a dining table, lay it as if you are hosting a fabulous dinner party with your best crockery and cutlery.
- Make sure the home smells inviting. Keep it simple but clean and fresh. A bad smell can put off even the most discerning viewers.
- Bed linen - crisp white linen will always look more aesthetically appealing than coloured, pattern, or character duvet sets for children.
- Towels - bathroom towels should be nicely folded and matched. If you have an old faded towel that feels like cardboard, remove this from view. Have bouncy fluffy towels neatly folded and placed on the shelf in the bathroom. Of course, if there is nowhere to display the towels because you have them hidden from view, then you can skip this step, but make sure that the hand towel is good.
- Hand wash - there is a chance that a viewer may need to use your facilities - make sure you have a nice handwash.
- Play relaxing soft background music - think of your home as an art gallery.
- Drinks, nibbles, etc. -Again, think of it as an art gallery for drinks, nibbles, etc. You're not turning your home into a cafe for the weekend, so don't give yourself the headache of having to take orders for how everyone wants their coffee.
- Let the agent control the room - let them do their job and meet and greet. It's often better if you're not present for the initial viewings.
And then, when the steady stream of potential buyers has wandered through your home, you can tidy everything away, and your life can return to normal. There's no need to keep your home to showroom standard all the time, and you won't have to lay out your best crockery for a new viewing every few days.
It's all taken care of in one fell swoop.
And the potential buyers can see that you have had lots of interest. They can see that your property is in high demand, which is likely to help gently persuade them to place an offer.
Now, if you have your viewings on a Saturday, your agent will spend Monday following each visitor up to see if they want to place an offer. Imagine if they all do, and you have 5,6, maybe, even more offers to begin negotiations with.
You won't get the offers if you don't have the viewings. And if you don't get any offers, your home won't sell.
So, create a sense of urgency, and dictate to the buyers the time they can view so they don't dilly-dally around. If they can book a viewing anytime, they will book it whenever is the most convenient for them. This could mean that they wait a week or maybe longer. Why not wait until you can fit it into your schedule when you've all the time in the world?
This way, you're telling them when they can view it. You're in control, and that restrictive timing will mean they make themselves available for viewing. Otherwise, they'll likely miss out on the property altogether.
That urgency is what compels the viewer to come and see the home. When they are there, they can see other parties interested too, which will heighten their interest if the property is for them. Then your agent will call them on Monday, confirm that there was a lot of interest and ask for their thoughts. If they liked it, they'll have spent the weekend thinking about the property and deciding if they want to make an offer. If they didn't like it, no problem. They will move on, and your agent will call the next person.
And you will hopefully have a few offers to choose from by the end of the day.
Sounds so simple, doesn't it?! But it takes a lot of logistical organisation and planning, but that is what your estate agent is there for. Hand over the reins and let them do what they do best.
Contact our team today if you'd like to learn more about hosting an open day for your property viewings.