Open Houses are a key sales strategy because they work. But depending on the property type and location, we host different types of open houses.

There are two types of open houses

There are public open houses, that are usually held on weekends. Everyone is welcome at a public open house. But, there are also broker open houses, where realtors host their listings for local realtors to come preview. Broker open houses are for realtors to preview the home, to decide whether or not the home would work for their clients. There are many reasons why realtors host public open houses and broker open houses. Below we’ll discuss them both.

Public open houses

Open houses hosted for the public are intended to generate buzz around a listing. It gives buyers who aren’t working with realtors a chance to view the home. It also gives the buyers who have viewed the home, an extra chance to take a look at the home at their leisure. Clients that view open houses might be shopping on emotion, which is one of the primary reasons driving people to make purchases.

Broker Open Houses

Broker open houses are usually held on weekday mornings, and are intended for local Realtors. It’s an opportunity for local Realtors to preview homes for their clients. These open houses become more and more common as house prices get more expensive. They are very common in the suburbs and also in detached homes in Toronto. Broker open houses can sometimes become very lavish, and brokers will hire catering and offer prizes to get local Realtors to preview their listing.

Do Open Houses Work?

While an open house alone is an insufficient marketing strategy for your home, it works very well in an overall marketing plan. It helps create buzz around a listing, and gives more potential buyers the opportunity to walk through your home. We believe open houses are part of a showing strategy, that maximizes potential buyers that walk through your home.