Open houses are an excellent strategy to entice active buyers to view an available listing without an appointment. There are many things to do before, during, and after open houses, such as scheduling the date, preparing the home, advertising your event, obtaining leads’ contact info, and sending follow-up emails. Having an open house checklist will ensure you’re fully prepared.
Download our free open house checklist for how to host an open house efficiently. It’s divided into three sections: what to do before, the day of, and after the open house. Then, read our article as we walk you through the steps for hosting an open house.
Things to Do Before the Open House
Careful planning is essential when hosting an open house to ensure everything flows smoothly on the event day. By following an open house checklist for agents, you maximize your time and resources to attract active buyers.
1. Schedule the Best Day & Time for Your Open House
The best days to host an open house are ideally Saturdays and Sundays since most people don’t have work during the weekends. Nevertheless, choosing an unconventional day or time slot may actually produce more visitors and potential buyers, depending on your market. Hosting multiple open houses with both weekend and weekday open house dates can further attract different types of active buyers and produce more traffic for harder-to-sell properties.
If you’re uncertain as to which day to schedule your open house, consider the following:
- The Sunday standard: Sunday is the preferred day for house hunters to attend open houses, as it’s typically a day off from other events. To maximize potential buyer turnout, consider scheduling two open house sessions, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., to accommodate more visitors.
- Nontraditional days and times: Nontraditional days and times work better for some clients. For communities with large populations of retirees or swing shift workers who work hours other than nine-to-five, it will be beneficial to host an open house at nontraditional times. For example, if you’re in an area where people flock to the beach in the summer, hosting an open house on a sunny, warm Saturday will not be ideal. Consider hosting an open house on a Wednesday or Thursday night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to accommodate more visitors.
- Holidays: Hosting an open house on or near a holiday may disrupt homeowners’ holiday plans and family gatherings. If you think an open house would be well-attended, be mindful of balancing your client’s wishes and your duty to get the best results for their listing. For example, if the home is located in a vacation community, hosting an open house during the holidays can attract relocation buyers who are vacationing in town and looking for a vacation home.
2. Prepare the Home & Property
The next step is ensuring the property is fully ready for the open house so you can showcase the home’s potential. That’s where home staging becomes an invaluable asset. Staging makes the home more appealing to potential buyers, such as improving the interior design and decor, as well as furniture selection and placement.
Aside from home staging, you must also declutter and remove personal items like family photos so interested buyers can visualize themselves living in the home. Complete all home repairs, do a deep cleaning, and finish low-cost improvements like repainting. Additionally, increasing the curb appeal is an effective way to raise a home’s sales price by 7% to 14%. Explore cost-effective curb appeal ideas to increase the value of the home and get more proposals from prospective buyers.
Home staging further increases the appeal of a home to the greatest number of active buyers, ultimately leading to an offer. Thanks to technology, you can utilize a virtual staging company like BoxBrownie to provide photo-realistic virtual staging. This is a much more affordable option than staging a home with furniture that helps buyers see the home’s full potential.
3. Create Marketing Materials for the Open House
Another important step to accomplish before the event is to create marketing materials for the open house. To make it easier for clients to remember your services, include your logo and customize your marketing open house materials to reflect your branding. Add details about the property and yourself as the representing agent.
These materials include:
- Open house invitations
- Open house flyers
- Sign-in sheets
- Business cards
- Brochures
- Open house flyer templates
Utilize platforms like Canva to create professional brochures and printable materials, essential items in what to bring to an open house as a realtor. These tools offer numerous real estate templates and design options that are easily customizable to match your branding and marketing needs. Prior to the event, email these materials to engaged prospects, ensuring they’re well-informed about the open house details. You can also opt to print these materials in advance so you can hand them out during the day in case clients don’t get the email.
4. Advertise Online & Offline for Maximum Exposure
After scheduling the date and time of your open house, successful real estate agents share information about the event on every possible channel, including both online and offline advertising. Examples of where you can advertise open house events include the following:
- The multiple listing service (MLS)
- Placing open house signs throughout the neighborhood
- Sharing social media posts and stories using professional real estate photos and videos
- Sharing information in nearby neighborhood Facebook groups
- Posting information on your real estate website
- Sharing the event information using a single-property website or real estate landing page
- Advertising the open house in your Zillow listing
Once entered into the MLS, the open house information is automatically fed to sites like Realtor.com and Zillow. In addition to your MLS, use real estate lead generation websites to market your property to as many potential buyers as possible.
Check out the table below to find effective channels to promote your listings and capture leads:
Platforms | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Best For | Real estate agents who want to advertise on the most visited real estate website | Realtors looking to generate leads and advertise on a single platform | Agents looking to advertise listings on their own easy-to-customize website | Real estate professionals needing marketing automation and CRM tools |
Key Features |
|
|
|
|
Starting Price | Depends on the ZIP code, but typically around $20 to $60 per lead | Depends on the ZIP code, but pricing starts at around $200 per month | $79 per month | $299 per month |
Learn More |
Things to Do the Day of & at the Open House
After completing the tasks above, you should be mindful of the next steps you need to perform on the day of the open house. Following an open house checklist for realtors ensures that the day of your event flows smoothly, motivating active buyers to make an offer.
5. Final Touches
On the day of the open house, make sure to arrive early and drop off the refreshments you’re planning to offer. Next, park away from the entrance to allow for maximum guest parking. Before opening the home for prospective buyers, do the following:
- Do a final check: Walk through the property to ensure that every part of the home is in its top-notch state. Pay attention to the walkway to guarantee it’s safe and easily accessible. Even small details can leave a poor impression on prospects.
- Set the mood: Create a welcoming ambiance. Set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature and correct any minor issues you might see throughout the home, like toilet seats left up, drawers partially open, light bulbs out, or trash in waste bins. Turn on all the lights to showcase the home’s best features. Consider lighting a scented candle to leave a lasting impression on clients.
- Prepare the snacks and marketing materials: Set up food and beverages in the kitchen, and consider setting the table to show the home as a space that works for entertaining. Then, place your flyers, brochures, and business cards near the entrance or in a strategic location, such as the kitchen counter. Lastly, get your open house sign-in sheet ready.
To attract house hunters casually passing by, put up an “Open House” sign that pops. Try using an unconventional shape for your sign, such as the shape of a house instead of the typical rectangle. This will more likely turn the heads of passersby. For more open house sign ideas, check out our article on 10 Real Estate Open House Sign Strategies & Tips for Larger Turnout.
6. Get Buyers in Touch With Their 5 Senses
When buying a home, emotions play a significant role in the decision-making process. To entice an offer from potential buyers, engaging their five senses is crucial, creating a positive and memorable impression of you and the property. Utilizing a checklist for open house for buyers can guide you in appealing to these senses effectively. Here are some strategies to consider:
Sense | What to Do |
---|---|
Sight | First impressions are crucial for buyers, starting with their initial visual encounter. Ensure the home's exterior and entryway are welcoming and characterized by cleanliness, comfort, and aesthetic appeal. Arrive early to tidy up any missed spots and enhance the ambiance with flowers, candles, and tasteful decor. Adjust pillows and add cozy elements like throws for an inviting atmosphere. |
Sound | Your open house preparation checklist should include ambient noise. Traffic right outside the door or a dog barking across the street may turn off potential buyers no matter how beautiful the interior looks. Play soft, relaxing (but upbeat) music to set the tone and mask car noises or dog barks in the background. Strive to bolster a good first impression without being deceptive. |
Smell | Collaborate with homeowners to eliminate unpleasant odors before showings. Use scented candles or bake cookies for a natural, welcoming aroma. To neutralize strong smells like cigarette smoke, place hidden bowls of white vinegar under furniture. Always remove these items after showings. Baking cookies can also create a comforting and natural aroma, adding to the home's welcoming atmosphere. |
Taste | Offer treats while potential buyers tour a property to boost their impressions and leave positive memories and feelings toward the home. It’s even better if you can serve goodies from a bakery nearby to promote a local business. Serve snacks (or have alternatives) that are free of common allergens like nuts. Additionally, label refreshments clearly to avoid potential issues. |
Touch | Consider the tactile experience in open houses by keeping surfaces clean with disinfecting wipes. Ensure the temperature is comfortable, avoiding impressions of HVAC or insulation issues. For virtual open houses, vividly describe textures like smooth granite, the solid feel of doors, or the grain of wood cabinetry. |
7. Ask Everyone to Sign In When Entering
The primary goal of open houses is to attract potential buyers and get significant offers on the listing. This event is also an extremely valuable opportunity to expand your client base and attract other potential buyer and seller leads. Make sure to have a sign-in sheet ready before visitors arrive and a process to capture contact information from each one. It could be a basic, detailed, or digital sign-in sheet.
Download and print our open house sign-in sheet template or use a digital sign-in system like Spacio. Spacio provides you with a digital sign-in form to capture the highest quality leads from in-person and virtual events, saving you time and effort. What’s more, Spacio allows you to market listings on social media and other major websites and communicate with your most important buyers and sellers through automated follow-up emails.
8. Interact With All Visitors
The aim of hosting an open house is to generate leads, so be intentional about interacting with visitors. Greet each guest as they arrive and initiate conversation. The open house is an opportunity to showcase not only the home for sale but also your skills as a real estate agent. You want to bring in offers for the home, but you also want to generate more leads to build your business. Put your phone away so that clients feel more connected with you and you are completely available for questions.
Here are other tips to help you establish connections with your prospects:
- Gather contact information: Direct visitors to a sign-in sheet without being overbearing. Distribute business cards and brochures after establishing rapport. Consider using VistaPrint (promo code: FSB15 for $15 off $50) for branded cards.
- Encourage feedback: Ask departing visitors for feedback on the property. This insight is crucial for gauging potential buyer perspectives and identifying any issues if the open house doesn’t immediately result in offers.
- Take notes for later: Record all feedback, noting common trends or questions, like property line confusion or pricing concerns. Share these insights with the seller to adjust strategies for quicker sales and more offers in future showings.
Things to Do After the Open House
After the last visitor departs, your responsibilities as a realtor continue. Completing post-open house tasks, part of your real estate open house checklist, is crucial to boosting your chances of receiving property offers, acquiring new leads, and leaving a lasting impression on your sellers. This follow-through can lead to positive reviews about your real estate services and enhance your professional reputation.
9. Clean Up
Once your open house event ends, gather any refreshments, decor pieces, marketing materials, and signs you brought to tidy up the home. Make sure to use a disinfecting wipe on any areas that need it. Throw away open house-generated trash and clean any dishes. If you set the table, wash these items before putting them away. Ensuring the sellers return to a clean home relieves their stress and makes you look more professional, leaving a lasting impression of your service as an agent.
10. Brief Sellers
After tidying up, give your sellers an update about the event. Review the feedback you got from visitors and discuss any notes for improvement. More importantly, discuss any potential offers (or expected offers) and talk to the sellers about your plans for following up with interested parties.
11. Send Follow-up Emails Using a CRM
Real estate statistics reported that real estate emails have an open rate of 19.17% and a return on investment of $36 for every dollar invested. Moreover, according to follow-up statistics, you get a 25% email reply rate if you follow up within 24 hours of the initial outreach. Thus, it’s crucial to contact every visitor from the open house as soon as possible.
A simple email saying that you enjoyed meeting them and are available to answer any questions can open the line of communication with new leads. Even if you don’t hear back immediately, you’ll leave an impression of being highly engaged and readily available to assist them in the homebuying process.
To avoid missing out on new leads, use a real estate customer relationship manager (CRM) to gather, track, and automatically follow up with leads. Pipedrive allows you to create a visual pipeline to easily keep track of each of your leads and automatically send follow-up emails to your open house visitors. Segment your email lists into categories so you can prioritize the leads that are most likely to present an offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
An effective real estate agent open house checklist should include sign-in sheets, informational packets, and marketing materials like brochures, flyers, and yard signs. The yard signs will attract house hunters, signaling there’s an ongoing open house. You can also bring flowers to enhance the mood of the home. Prepare pertinent documents ahead of time, so you don’t miss any opportunities. These documents can be blank copies of the buyer’s representation agreement, listing agreement, and seller’s disclosure notice.
Among the necessary things you need to prepare for an open house are a strategic schedule, online and offline marketing materials, open house invitations, professional photos of the home, tools to improve curb appeal and stage the home for the opening house, a sign-in sheet, and snacks to be offered to guests. Download our open house checklist above to successfully generate serious buyer leads.
Informational packets should answer homebuyers’ basic questions. These include the square footage of the home, the number of rooms, and other details about the property being sold. Include information about the neighborhood as well as your real estate services. Place them in folders with your name and logo on them to stay top of mind.
While optional, prepare small gifts or “goodie” bags along with your informational packets to take home so that your buyers will still think about you even after they’ve left.
The key to selling a home is to help buyers envision themselves living there. This means utilizing pleasant visuals, music, aromas, and food to stimulate their five senses and spark their imagination. It goes without saying that you also need to research your buyer’s taste when preparing the home.
Other ways to make your open house stand out are to show off the “before” and “after” of some areas of the home, stage the home by pairing it with a particular season, theme or story, and offer free drinks. Consider holding contests and raffles to engage your buyers and make your open house memorable. If your budget allows, hire a professional photographer who can snap photos of the open house as it happens. Share these photos on your social media and tag your prospects as a low-key way of following up with them.
Bottom Line
An open house checklist enables you to showcase the potential of a home more efficiently while also displaying your real estate skills in attracting quality leads. By downloading our checklist on how to host an open house, you ensure that all open house essentials are covered and that you establish a repeatable pattern of professionalism. You can even customize the open house list to fit your process. Lastly, a successful open house creates more buzz for your listings, enabling you to get more listings for future work.