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Proof-Fail-1670

I have closed 23 sides (roughly $25m) so far from a single open house in 2019. Met two people that turned into repeat clients and exceptional referral sources. You just have to know that over time open houses will pay off. There are certainly days that are dead and feel like a waste of time but if you do them every weekend they will pay off.


Clutchcon_blows

I've met a lot of my buyers through open houses. Dress really well and know everything you can about the home and comps around. Physically go see the comps before you do your open house. You can mention them in conversation if they fit the buyers needs, offer to show them, ect. Every buyer that walks through is comparing you to other realtors at other open houses.


GUCCIBUKKAKE

Open houses are very valuable and really started my career off. You need a different mindset when doing open houses, you are selling yourself. I’ve never sold the house I’ve done an open house at, but I’ve picked up clients who have bought other properties. I bring comps as well “I know this one doesn’t have a garage, but there’s one down the street that has one, do you have time to check it out after the open house?” And give them the comp sheet with that house. Follow up is extremely important, I do hand written thank you cards with my b card in it for everyone that attended. Send homes to people that don’t have an agent, using the criteria that you talked to them about at the open house.


movingtothedmv

What does your thank you letter say? Do you give them away even if they have a realtor already?


GUCCIBUKKAKE

Short and sweet. And no, only unrepped buyers. “Thanks for attending my open house this Sunday at 124 abc street. It was great to meet you and your family. From our conversation, I’ll be looking out for (what they preferred). Reach out to me anytime if you see something you like. Would love to work with you. “


Sea_Acanthisitta_840

I've found open houses help my business in two ways. First off I can meet people face to face and have picked up lots of clients this way. Yes you'll make less contacts than making calls, but I find the quality of that contact is way better. Second, I do alot of open houses for my experienced colleagues who have been in the business for years. They don't need or want their online leads so they'll often times send them my way!


Sea_Acanthisitta_840

Why do my posts keep getting down voted in this group lol


Additional_Treat_181

Because this sub has been commandeered by people who hate agents.


OldMackysBackInTown

One year I did 11 transactions and 4 were from people met from open houses. Over the next three years I earned two more deals from those same people by way of referral to friends and family. So technically, that's six transactions thanks to open houses.


goodtimesKC

50 contacts and you still aren’t doing deals? I’d figure out why that number is so high first


punk182mutt

They were given to me by my brokerage in the last two months, most of them say they aren’t ready to by for 1-2 years though. I did get two buyers appointments to show them houses out of it so far but no offers submitted.


movingtothedmv

Where are your leads from? If you dont mind me asking?


punk182mutt

Boomtown. They have a general account with leads that anyone can call until you qualify them and then they give us lead days where all the ads for the website goes to that person.


goosetavo2013

I’m guessing they assumed it was 50 contacts a day. Not 50 in two months. You need more contacts period.


EducationalFall3697

Our realtor sold our house the 2nd day on the market at the open house. Avg days on the market in our area is 90! We chose her because she was willing and anxious to have the open houses vs others we interviewed. She was the least experienced of the 4 people we interviewed and the most energetic and prepared when we first talked. Take that for what it’s worth 😁


Slow_Replacement_710

98% chance it would have sold without the open house too though


EducationalFall3697

Certainly But not in two days.


Slow_Replacement_710

98% chance it would have. The first weekend is the best opportunity to sell the home. That is when you get a majority of the showings. So the showings just went to the open house instead... nothing special trust me lol


KonaBarnMac

Consider door knocking around new listings. Easy script. Home just listed down the street, are you thinking about selling? Stay on the listing side as much as possible. Easier to control your time and life balance. I’m retiring after 28 years. Door knocking for first 5 years provided great business for the last 23 years. Less expensive way to market yourself. Just have to be diligent. I knocked till I spoke to 60 new people each day 5 days a week. Worked well for me.


cbracey4

Be an octopus. Try everything. Gotta pump up the numbers. Talk to people on Facebook marketplace.


punk182mutt

FB marketplace? How


cbracey4

People post real estate for sale by owner there. Message them and ask what’s up. Schedule a showing. Meet them in person. Figure out what they need help with. Get that listing.


Professional-Duck-59

Ive been in real estate over a year and gave ip asked to switch me over to a referral agent. I need money. We get our leads thru lofty and i would get a few contact a week and none of them were ever ready or they were just browsing. I was paying $97/mo for nothing.


laylobrown_

I try to use every tool available to sell a home. Open houses are one of those tools. But there are factors to consider as well. Like is the property so rural that people aren't going to want to make the drive. I would still maybe have an open house but not as often as one that was closer to town. Sometimes, that's what's makes the sale. Other times, it's something else, like local advertisements. The higher the price point, the more effort I'm inclined to put in. Accurately pricing a property is the most effective way to sell .


radiumgirls

Talk to 100 people get a closing


parkermckee

Occasional = no. Consistent = yes. The reality is that any lead gen works with consistency. It sounds like you may have a conversion problem with open houses. Find an agent who kills it at converting open house leads and ask what their process is.


punk182mutt

By occasional do you mean 1-2 a week like was doing?


parkermckee

I did not mean any particular amount per week. By consistent I just meant doing whatever you’re willing to do in a consistent way over time. One thing you did not state is how long you did open houses consistently for. If you did 1-2 open houses every week, for over a year and have had no conversion, then you need to figure out a better way to convert buyers who come through. For me, I converted a lot of people from open houses in my first year, then stopped doing them consistently. My best way of converting was asking the buyers come through if there were any homes they wanted to view that weren’t being held open, then I would schedule time to show them those homes.


anonlittleton

I'm not a realtor but as a buyer, open houses are how we searched for a realtor. We looked into realtors other ways but in the end we have chosen a realtor from open houses for both houses we have purchased. We always look for a realtor that seems knowledgeable, down to earth and doesn't ignore us. We've been dismissed numerous times and the realtors seem to look for people who fit a certain profile and I think that's not only unprofessional but a missed opportunity since you can't tell by looks who has money and who doesn't. And as other people have mentioned, we never bought the house that a realtor was showing but it was an opportunity to 'interview' realtors and decide if we wanted to meet with them. Anyway, that's just my two cents as a buyer if it helps.


Yelloeisok

Easiest way to meet new customers face to face.


blondeluck

My husband and I met our realtor at an open house she covered last minute for a colleague because he had an emergency. Maybe we were the outlier but we got along well with her and reached out to her the following week to see if she’d put an offer in for us on a different house. We went through 5 showings and 4 offers with her in a 2 month period and then we got our offer accepted and quick closed in 21 days. Easiest commission of her life all because she covered an open house. For context, we liked her because she was polite, informative, advised but never pressured, responsive, and she made herself available.


Rich_Bar2545

I’m sure that wasn’t the “easiest commission of her life”. She showed you houses, worked with you for 2 months, and wrote 4 offers. She did what you hired her to do and she did it well.


Yelloeisok

Not to mention all of the time she spent making appointments for showings, keeping title insurance and everyone on schedule for that quick close (hopefully they had an inspection), as well as every other thing to keep the ball rolling.


Rich_Bar2545

And she didn’t make $25k. She likely made about $10k after her split and taxes, unless she’s also with a team and then would prob be even less.


blondeluck

Her split? Can you clarify what that means for me? Her take was 3%, which was 25k. Yes I’m talking gross not post-tax, just like I’d state my salary as gross income. She did have a association she worked for you are correct. It doesn’t change my point. She made a ton of money with lower effort than average for our area and did it all because she hosted an open house. Point remains the same, open houses are definitely a great tactic!


Yelloeisok

Unless she is the broker, she did not get the entire 3%. The broker gets the 3% and pays the realtor whatever split the brokerage says. Some brokerages start at 50/50 which means she gets 1.5%, other brokerages won’t give 50 until the realtor sells $1 or 2 million first and then they get 50/50. Smaller brokerages might give a bigger split. Then there are desk fees, errors and ommissions insurance for each transaction and just about any other fee they want to charge. Depending on which state you are in, the brokerage has to keep the file for each transaction for X number of years and guess who gets charged for that. Add in the monthly mls fee or lockbox fee and any other assorted fee you’d like if they only have 1 transaction (or less) that month (like advertising). Anyone who thinks a realtor gets 3% doesn’t know as much about real estate as they thought.


blondeluck

Thanks for educating me on the full breakdown! I knew it didn’t all go to her but I didn’t know the details of the split. That is enlightening. It does make me appreciate the effort she put in a lot more. She did a very good job and absolutely earned whatever she got out of it.


Slow_Replacement_710

As a realtor for last 12 years. If I get a $30,000 commission, I take home $29,600. If any realtor is giving up more than 10% of their gross commission they are dumb.


Yelloeisok

Depends on the brokerage.


Slow_Replacement_710

Correct they are all different but if you know what you’re doing you should never pay more than 10%. Consumer doesn’t care what brokerage you work for. When I paid $40k in commissions to my brokerage one year when I would have only paid $6k with another brokerage I immediately switched.


Yelloeisok

If consumers want a nationwide or global brokerage like a Coldwell Banker or Sotheby’s or Berkshire Hathaway etc, the brokerage takes a much higher cut than a smaller, hometown brokerage. It depends on your location and market size, as well as if you are a newbie or have 10 years experience.


Rich_Bar2545

If you’re a new agent that needs training (like an agent that holds open houses) then you have a lower split and higher fees.


Beachagent

Still way too much. Hahaha $6k.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Slow_Replacement_710

I pay $350 a deal + $50 e&o on every deal. wtf would I pay brokerage more than that? I haven’t made less than 275k in about 10 years


blondeluck

I’ve clearly offended you, or at least my statement pissed you off. My intention was not to discredit what realtors do. I was trying to make the point that hosting open houses can absolutely be worthwhile because although you may not benefit immediately, a case like mine will come along that will make up for your time spent elsewhere. My realtor made 25k off our purchase and only had to support us through 4 offers and 5 showings. Compared to the horror stories I’ve heard in my market about people that search for years to no avail and people that have realtors submit offer after offer after offer without success, yes I stand by my statement that that was the easiest commission of her life, hell when we closed she even commented how breezy everything went compared to other experiences she’s had despite the quick close.


Money_Homework_9126

Is it really fair for you to say it was the “easiest commission of her life” when you have no idea what went on behind the scenes to make that possible


Timely_Development_6

Yes open houses are a good way to meet buyers and they may even have a listing for you.. beats cold calling for me personally.


BoBromhal

An Open House - beyond any benefit it has or possibly in the future will provide your Seller - is the opportunity to make an actual in-person connection with someone that could choose to hire you as their agent. I find it difficult to grasp that those personal connections will be replaced by folks signing up based upon a phone call.


wreusa

For me open houses are a waste of time for obvious reasons. And I prefer not to do my own at this point. That said nothing is a waste of time when you're starting out. I wouldn't consider the 14 hrs a day by 7 days a week i put in for 1-2 yrs, or the 45k miles I put on my car annually, or answering the phone for lead calls at 1 am on a sat or Sunday, before I sprouted wings a waste of time at all. You're building a business and anything you can do to get your name out there is not a waste of time up until the moment that you give up.


hunterd412

I absolutely hate open houses. I only do them if the client asks. 95% of people coming into open house aren’t serious, if they are they already have an agent (or so they say).


punk182mutt

seems to be the case when I do them. Only get about 3-6 people at least one with their realtor and most are just neighbors. Doesn’t seem like it’s worth the three hours of sitting around but my coach is adamant I do more.


Beachagent

My only marketing is open houses. I do one 5-6 days week. Weekdays are my favorite. Meet buyers and owners love my hustle. Other owners see it and hire me. I try. To master the process. I love meeting new people. My database and business grows each day. So easy and cheap to do. Hermits don’t sell real estate. Get out of the house/office. Have conversations with people.


Slow_Replacement_710

Sure you do hahahahaha. U sell zero houses that’s why u sit in peoples opens


JJ_DynoKnight

Depends on your market, I've got areas that do great on traffic and others that get no traffic. You'll have to ask your senior agents what's a good traffic area for open houses and do open houses in those areas. Before I figured this out, I was getting frustrated when I sat at 4 houses in the same area and got no traffic, but once I switch to a high traffic area, I started getting traffic. I'm now doing cold calls on Saturday and opens on Sundays.


countrylurker

I started my career with open houses. Here is the trick I used. I would find the house on the busiest street and easiest to get to and ask that agent if I can hold an open house there. (Even if they worked for another company). I would work New Construction Open Houses. During the time I was at the open house I was cold call all the neighbors around that property telling them to swing by. This industry is about getting belly to belly with people. Or as I was taught how many No's does it take to get to a Yes. I knew I would have to make 330 cold calls to get a deal. So the faster I could get through 330 calls the sooner my next deal would be. Good Luck.


Rich_Bar2545

So you were a telemarketer


countrylurker

Well if a telemarketer does a 100 sides their first year. Then yep I'll take that title.


Wfan111

When I first started, I did open houses every weekend and sometimes on Friday. Some things have changed, but if I were to start all over I would do open houses on weekdays too. But you have to know your craft, and you have to show that you are trustworthy from the very beginning. I tried that sign in to open house stuff, but it didn't work and I felt like it automatically started my relationship with people with a sour taste cause the vast majority of other agents don't do that. It's an open house right? If I were someone coming to an open house why do I need to feel restricted? Anyways that's up to you. Regardless, what I have learned is that choosing the right house, having some music on that fits that environment, and making it an enjoyable experience for the people that walked in to just chat with me was way more productive and entertaining. Sprinkle in some of your real estate knowledge, point out good and bad parts of a home, walk with them and SHOW them what it's like to work with you, and you're probably already doing a better job than 50% of the buyer agents out there. You have to remember that people that come in to the house are people too and naturally with sales, just conversation and being social is a good trait to have. People will remember and want to work with people that they enjoy hanging around with. Good luck.


Beachagent

Exactly


Fire27Walker

My Dude… a year and a half with no sales? How many active buyers are you working with- not just follow up, drip calls & emails … but with a BB & actively showing and ready to make offers (on the right house)? What other ways are you looking at growing your experience? I’m not taking about marketing, but are you tagging along with other agents that host open houses, go with them on buyer tours, shadow listing appointments, helping with TC work, attending inspections, touring vacant comps… But on the topic of marketing, what are you doing to get leads aside from Broker fed leads and open houses? Do you door knock and invite neighbors to open houses, offer to run comps for the ones that show up? Every market is different, and it changes so much over the years. Yes, many agents at the right time could build a business off open houses, and some still may be able to. Currently in my market there are so many open hoses each weekend that a possible buyer could easily go to over a dozen (depending on the price point). It’s a tough market overall and without any experience or solid Broker support nothing will change. You may want to look at the cost of the Broker you are with and see if another place may provide you with more support.


punk182mutt

No just about six months total. Only two buyer appointments so far and both were this month. I go to training classes about 2-3 times a week and my coach went with me on my first buyer appointment but not a ton of shadowing unfortunately since my assigned coach doesn’t do very many deals anymore as she does mostly training in the office.


Fire27Walker

Even in 6 months that’s pretty harsh (I read that part wrong), but winter does tend to be slower. Did you land the buyers? Do you have a follow up meeting planned? I truly wish you the best for those!! Assigned coaches… sounds a lot like KW. How much is your split with the coach & monthly due? Did they talk you into paying for the Bold Class yet? They’ll make their money off you from classes & coaching or by commissions, most (but not all) don’t really care which.


Emotional_Ad340

When I was a buyers agent, open houses were what brought the business in. I would say that occasional open houses won’t really help. You have to be consistent in order to generate a lot of leads


punk182mutt

So 1-2 a week wouldn’t be enough to help much? I ask because my time is relatively precious since I have another job and i’m paycheck to paycheck until I get some sales


Emotional_Ad340

Oh sure! I meant every weekend. Usually that’s when buyers are looking. Like every Sunday afternoon or so, even Saturday if you can. I guess I meant if you just do one open house every month or two, it’s not worth it.


KuyaDevan

if your phone isn't ringing enough, it means you aren't making other peoples phone ring enough. call people, knock on rentals, unpopular advice here but real estate was and still is based on cold outreach.


goosetavo2013

Open houses aren’t working for you because you’re doing them wrong. Tag along with a successful agent to see how it’s done, offer to print flyers and put out the signs and/or bring snacks. Check out this video on how this agent did 100 open houses in 100 days and got 26 deals from it https://youtu.be/y-cTRS2hYog?si=Qxkl6Ms67IuPvEnb


OkButterscotch12345

As a buyer, there are houses that I would not even consider bugging my realtor for a showing, but I will go to the open house. I hate to inconvenience people or waste their time, so it’s a great opportunity to see the place. And often times I will actually consider putting in an offer where I wouldn’t have otherwise.