The April issue of REALTOR, the National Association's member magazine, has some interesting statistics gathered from what Realtors reported when asked, "What percentage of your closed sales do you attribute to open houses?
Well, the responses don't surprise me, but I'm wondering if they surprise other Realtors? Here's what the NAR's study revealed:
More than 50% 3%
Between 25% and 50% 7%
Between 10% and 25% 8%
Less than 10% 82%
I'll admit that I've never been a fan of open houses, and for that reason most of my home listings sell before I'm forced to try an open house. Consequently, over the years, I've not done more than, perhaps, 200 open houses. And since I've been in the real estate business for 45 years, I've had several thousand listings.
Nevertheless, I fall into the "Less than 10%" category. In fact, last month, I sold the very first home I have ever sold as a result of the open house. Interestingly, I sold it to a fellow who had a real estate license, but was not active. So while I actually handled both sides of the transaction, he took the agent's co-op fee.
What's been your experience?
And if you've done well with open houses, how about telling the rest of us how you've gone about beating those odds.
BILL CHERRY, REALTORS
DALLAS - PARK CITIES
214 503-8563
