Are Open Days A Good Idea?

May 16th, 2022

One of the most common question we have from sellers during our marketing consultation is “What about an open day?”

Now, when selling a property, open days seem to be the ‘in thing’ at the moment, but are they really a good idea?

Well, Yes IF, and it’s a big if. But they need to be done properly.

Why are they a good idea (if done correctly):

  • Lots of viewings on one day (or morning or afternoon) makes it very convenient for you. You only have to make your property a show house for one day
  • Having lots of buyers see your house at the same time creates a real sense of urgency and competition amongst buyers
  • Because of the above point, offers tend to come in nearer, or over, the asking price (assuming the asking price is right in the first place)

What open days are not:

  • A chance for every Tom, Dick and Harry to look at your house
  • A guaranteed way to sell your house
  • A way to sell your house for more than it’s worth

A few other things to bear in mind:

  • An unsuccessful open day can actually damage the future marketing of your property, so be careful
  • You need a decent amount of marketing and a marketing timeframe ‘before’ the open day. Remember the extra marketing to promote a open day can come with a large price tag to attract the potential buyers you want.
  • If done properly, it isn’t really an open day, more of a block and structured viewing session
  • NOTE! They won’t work on every property

Our marketing strategy is purposely designed to implement a number of methods that increase the window of opportunity. I have a very high success rate with structured ‘open days’ because I follow the marketing strategy carefully and ultimately do them properly. Here is a recent example:

I recently marketed a property in Prenton. A 1960’ 3 bedroom semi detached house. The ideal property for an open day. I valued the house at £230,000 BUT because I knew an open day was a good idea for this particular property, we marketed at offers in excess of £225,000 (the carrot).

We launched on the Wednesday, using Thursday and Friday to gather the details of interested parties. We started viewings on the Saturday morning and by 1330 we had 8 viewings and 7 offers. The initial marketing and structured open day ultimately put us in a position to have agreed the sale for over my original valuation.

Now, That’s how an open day should be.