An open house can be a great tool in the process of selling your home but there are certain things you can do to help boost the success. You also need to keep in mind that the buyer of your home statistically will not attend the open house but the people that do attend will tell their family and friends who will also pass on information, so it is important to get people to attend.

• Make sure your listing is available online with as much information and as many photos and videos as possible. Most potential buyers are researching online before they ever see your home and they want to gather as much information as possible. I have my listings on over 100 different websites.
• Advertise your open house at least a week in advance on all the real estate sites your home is on. Some sites have open house searches or actual open house apps and you want buyers to know about your open house. As soon as I know I will be having an open house I enter it on all the sites I have the listing on.
• Let your neighbors know that your home is for sale. Sure, neighbors are nosey and you may not want them involved but they know the neighborhood and may have family or friends that want to buy in the area. Make sure they know about the open house too! I actually send out postcards to at least 50 homes in the neighborhood announcing the listing and the open house so they can come by and/or let family and friends know about the listing and the open house.
• Make sure your home has lost your personality. Buyers need to imagine themselves and their belongings in the home, so you need to remove family photos, religious items and any other items that may be slightly controversial to a buyer. Your Realtor should coach you on this prior to putting your home up for sale so you have time to prepare.
• Whatever you do, leave before the open house begins and make sure to take your family and pets with you as some buyers do not care for pets. You may be an expert on your home but trust me, what you tell buyers may be just want they do not want in a house and buyers don’t feel comfortable looking around a home when the owner is right there.
• Your Realtor should be present during the open house but he or she can’t be everywhere at once and you don’t know how many people will attend, so be smart. Lock up or put out of sight any valuables, prescription drugs or other information that you do not want people to have access to. It is rare but people have taken things from homes during open houses.

A frequent question that sellers ask is how buyers search for homes?  It used to be that you would find homes in the newspaper, in those free magazines at the supermarket or the gas station, Realtors has mls books the size of a jumbo telephone book and so on.  Now with the boom in technology, the whole method of searching for a home has changed.  The 2011 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found the following to be how buyers search for homes today:

Information sources used in home search:

•     Internet: 88%
•     Real estate agent: 87%
•     Yard sign: 55%
•     Open house: 45%
•     Newspaper ad: 30%
•     Home book or magazine: 19%

It’s Cherry time this weekend!  I have open houses at both of my listings on Cherry Path in Rosemount – both will be open from 2:30 – 4 pm on Sunday, June 10.  Stop by and take a look if you are interested in a nice townhome.

I am also having an open house from 12-1:30pm at my listing www.1891DaytonAvenue.info in St. Paul’s Merriam Park.  This is a gorgeous Queen Anne style home that has been renovated from top to bottom.

Hope to see you Sunday and please forward this information if you know anyone looking for homes like these!

Looking for a great home searching app for your mobile device?  Search all homes in the Twin Cities today by downloading the new Results Radar App. It’s free useful and fun to use!  Search and see open houses and all the homes that are for sale.  Click here for the link to download the app to your mobile device!