Are you selling your home in Golden Valley or elsewhere in the Minneapolis area? Whether this is your first or fifth time selling a home, you likely want to get multiple offers from prospective buyers. An open house is usually a great way to attract many people to your Golden Valley home, if it’s done correctly. Read on for expert open house tips for sellers that ultimately increase your bottom line.
Choose the right time and date
By being strategic about the timing of the event, you can ultimately ensure that you will get as many attendees as possible, and this can translate to more offers. When considering the best time to schedule the open house, choose a time that will allow many prospective buyers to attend. For example, the weekdays are often considered the worst time to have an open house because many are at work and school. However, if you must host an open house on the weekday, consider scheduling it in the late afternoon when many people leave work and school to head home.
Generally, the best time to host an open house for your Golden Valley home for sale is on the weekend. This is when potential buyers have more free time. Specifically, consider scheduling an open house on Sunday. The
greatest number of online searches for open house events take place Sunday mornings. Many people like to sleep in on the weekend and then often run errands in the afternoon. For these reasons, consider scheduling the open house
between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. This will allow prospective home buyers to visit your open house in between errands. Consider also scheduling within a tight time frame of three to four hours. By hosting an open house within a tight time frame, you can make your home appear busier and popular, which might urge buyers to make an offer immediately.
Invite the neighbors
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You will likely attract many different types of people to the open house. One important group of people you should consider inviting is your neighbors. Since they live in your neighborhood, they can be the best form of referral for your Golden Valley home for sale. You might even be able to incite a buzz as neighbors share the news of your home on the market with their friends, family, and colleagues.
Work with your realtor and use door hangers, neighborhood signs, flyers, and postcards to spread the news of the date and time of your open house. Once at the open house, your neighbors can excite the crowd by talking about the perks of living in the Golden Valley area, specifically your neighborhood. This could entice and even convert random passersby into interested home buyers.
Broadcast live streams on Instagram Stories
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Consider marketing your home to a wide audience. One of the best ways to do that is by using social media. Considering the fact that
approximately 27% of millennials use Instagram and are the largest group of home buyers, it is a great place to find potential buyers. You can use your realtor’s Instagram page to post real estate updates and open house news. Your realtor could also broadcast live streams on Instagram Stories.
Besides creating an exciting atmosphere centered around your home, you can invite people who can’t attend the event to visit your open house virtually. After viewing the presentation of your Golden Valley home for sale, they might be enticed to contact your realtor.
Use signs to highlight special features
At open houses, home buyers are often given free rein to explore the home. But if an open house is very busy, the realtor might not have much time to guide all the buyers and answer all their questions. Furthermore, buyers could even get confused and overwhelmed, and their visit to your home might not be a positive experience. Consider using signs to highlight certain aspects of your home to make the tour seamless and smooth. Specifically, labeling three must-have features in your home can make it easier to remember. For example, label highly sought-after features such as heated pools, flooring type, extra storage capacity, and appliances. Making your home memorable increases the odds of buyers contacting your realtor or even making offers on your Golden Valley real estate.
Consider a raffle or contest
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Another way to attract people to your open house is by having a raffle or contest. This can be a great way to bring out the competitive nature of prospective buyers and create some excitement. Offer items that home buyers in the Golden Valley area most desire, such as small kitchen appliances, gift cards, or even a signed artifact from a celebrity. All that is needed to enter is their contact information, such as an email or phone number. Your realtor can then use their contact information to follow up after the open house.
Raise money for a charity you support
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Is there a charity you support? Raising money for a charity is one way to create excitement and bring in more buyers while supporting your local community. Many people like to support worthwhile causes. By using charity as the premise for inviting people to your open house, you can attract many buyers.
Give incentives at the open house
Finally, a great way to attract people is by offering gifts. When advertising your open house in flyers and direct mail campaigns, mention that you will offer a door prize. While your realtor will probably bring small takeaways, such as pens and magnets, also offer a luxurious gift, such as gourmet desserts, wine, and small household items.
When you’re ready to sell your home in the Golden Valley area, schedule a consultation with experienced realtor
John Brekken at the Laura Tiffany Group. He can provide expert guidance on everything from innovative marketing tactics to creative negotiation strategies.
