By Diane Ives, CRB, CRS, and MRIS Instructor
MRIS, March 9, 2009-It might seem as if Open Houses rarely result in a sale, but they may be useful for building a client base and for obtaining feedback on the listing. The 2008 NAR, Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers, reported that “eighty-seven percent of home buyers used the Internet to search for homes” and about half reported attending open houses during their home search process. This figure suggests that holding houses open may have value as an adjunct opportunity.
MRIS® allows you to capitalize on both the Internet Search that buyers want and the Open House opportunity by putting the Open House information into your listing in Keystone. This way the event will become searchable in Matrix (agents) and on HomesDatabase.com (the public) for maximum exposure at no additional cost.
Agents can add broker open houses and invite other agents/offices to tour after the weekly sales meetings or they can add public open houses and invite members of the public (usually evenings or weekends).
To add an open house; log into www.mris.com and click the Keystone link at the top of the page, click the Search for Listings button, enter the MLS#, click search, click the edit icon (found on the far left of the listing result). Click the Open House link, click the Add Open House button. Enter the date and time within the field Open House Begins, enter the Open House Close information, enter Remarks, Access Type, Open House Type, and Open Agent ID, click Save.
It’s that easy. Your Open House will now be visible in Matrix and on HomesDatabase.com for the world to see.
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