Unless you’re new to the industry, real estate professionals are accustomed to working an irregular schedule. Even the most seasoned pros are often showing homes on Saturday mornings, but this aspect of the job doesn’t need to be a huge burden.
By being creative and having some fun with your existing or potential clients and buyers, you can make open houses something that you look forward to on weekends. Consider these open house ideas that can keep your weekend showings upbeat:
Rethink Your Drinks
Of course, everyone loves free food and drinks at an open house, but there are ways to put a twist on complimentary beverages. Reach out to local coffee, smoothie or wine shops to see if they’d like to partner with you to provide refreshments. This is mutually beneficial for you and the shops, and it allows you to keep costs down and build sustainable relationships with local business owners.
Invite the Neighbors
When hosting an open house, the residents in the nearby area can become helpful assets. If the sellers are close friends with many of them, that’s even better. You can create a more fun, relaxed atmosphere if neighbors are in attendance at your open house. Before you plan to welcome potential sellers, be sure to walk around the neighborhood and introduce yourself to the neighbors, or at the very least, leave door hangers.
Have a Raffle
Lastly, this may cost you more than the other suggestions mentioned, but raffling something like a Google Nest or an Amazon Echo will certainly make any open house more lively and could help spread the word and inspire future referrals. Raffles are also a great way to promote your social media accounts and gather contact information from attendees.
In addition to these ideas, be sure to hit all your other standard open house must-dos. With all the craziness in the market and everything moving so quickly, take some time to enjoy your weekend open houses!
Agents, what do you do to keep your open houses lively? Email online@rismedia.com and let us know.
Jameson Doris is RISMedia’s blog and social media editor. Email him your real estate news ideas to jdoris@rismedia.com.
