An open house is traditionally the first opportunity for prospective buyers to set foot in your home. When done right, an open house can turn a casual visitor into a serious candidate. However, in order to achieve meaningful results from the open house, you need to prep for the occasion.
Preparing for an open house is very similar to preparing for your listing photos or for private showings. It’s all about making your home feel charming, comfortable, and easy to live in. Here are 13 practical strategies to maximize your success during an open house:
1. Give Each Room a Purpose
When staging your home for an open house, every room should have a clearly defined purpose. You may prefer for your spare bedroom to function as both an office and a guest room, but for the open house, it should be one or the other.
Knowing your target audience can help you assign a purpose to extra rooms in the home. If your neighborhood is popular among young professionals, staging a home office may be wise. If you’re trying to appeal to families or new couples, you could stage a room as a nursery.
2. Create Zones in Open Concept Areas
Many buyers love open concept homes, but there still should be designated areas in open spaces. For example, a large area rug can create a visual distinction between the living room and the kitchen. Installing a pendant light above the dining table can help set the dining area apart as its own zone, too.
3. Use Appropriately Sized Furniture
Furniture can make a big difference in the overall appeal of a home. When the furniture is too small, the room can feel uninviting or uncomfortable. However, massive furniture can make the space feel cramped or claustrophobic. If your furniture isn’t appropriately sized for the space, consider moving it into storage and renting some pieces for the listing photos and open house.
4. Declutter the Storage Areas
As you prepare for an open house, it can be tempting to move your belongings to the closets, attic, or garage to open up space in the living areas. Prospective buyers will look in every closet and storage area, though. Open and organized storage space will look much bigger than crowded and cluttered closets.
Instead of cramming your closets full of your possessions, you should try to clear them out as much as possible. Now is the perfect time to purge your belongings before you move. You could also rent a storage unit for extra space as you declutter your home.
5. Remove Signs of Pets
Whether due to allergies or personal preference, some buyers simply don’t like pets. Obvious signs of pets during an open house could make these buyers feel uncomfortable or lead them to believe that the home has pet damage. To appeal to the widest possible pool of buyers, you should remove food and water dishes, toys, litter boxes, beds, and any other items that belong to your pets.
6. Maximize Lighting
Increasing the lighting is one of the easiest ways to prepare your home for an open house. A well-lit home feels warm, inviting, and clean. Maximize the natural light by removing heavy drapes, opening the blinds, and washing the windows. Add floor and table lamps to any corners that feel dim or shadowy, and replace any burned-out bulbs. Turn all of the lights on for your open house so guests can see everything your home has to offer.
7. Add Color
Splashes of color make a staged house look more inviting and cohesive. Place a vase of flowers or a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter, or set some colorful pillows or throw blankets on the living room couch. If you have an open-concept home, use color schemes to create visual distinctions between the dining and living areas.
8. Play Music
Soft music playing in the background can help your home feel more cozy and welcoming during the open house. However, be sure to keep the music at a low volume so it doesn’t disrupt anyone’s conversations. You could create a playlist based on the demographics of buyers you expect to attend the open house, but instrumental music tends to be the safest choice.
9. Stage the Exterior
The outside of your house needs just as much attention as the interior when preparing for showings. First impressions are key, and buyers will make an immediate judgment on your home based on how it looks on the outside.
Remove clutter from your yard, and move all vehicles out of the driveway before the open house. Power wash the driveway, and arrange some planters or other decor near your front door to spruce it up.
10. Schedule for the Right Time
You’ll have the most success with your open house if it’s scheduled at a time that’s convenient for as many buyers as possible. Saturdays and Sundays are the most popular days for open houses, with Sunday slightly outperforming Saturday in turnout. Late morning and early afternoon are the best times of day for open houses because there’s plenty of natural light.
11. Use Signage
If buyers struggle to find your home, they’ll feel frustrated and irritated before they even step through the door. Make it as easy as possible for visitors to locate your house so that buyers have a smooth experience from beginning to end.
Confirm that your house number is easy to read from the road, and put a sign at the end of your driveway announcing the open house. You could even use balloons to help buyers find your home.
12. Offer Brochures
Your visitors might be attending several open houses in one weekend. Although they could look your listing up online to find the details, not all buyers will put in that effort. To help them remember your home, give out brochures or flyers with photos and key information about the property. The handouts should also include your real estate agent’s contact information.
13. Provide Refreshments
Refreshments may not make or break your open house, but they’re an easy way to help buyers feel welcome in your home and to encourage them to stick around longer. Cookies, pastries, or cheese and crackers are all popular choices. Bottled water and soda will be appreciated by visitors, too.
Your open house is your first opportunity to make an impression on prospective buyers. For the best results, you and your agent should strategically prepare your home. Clean thoroughly, get rid of clutter, arrange your furniture thoughtfully, and make your home feel comfortable and inviting. With the right preparation, your open house will generate tons of interest among buyers, and it won’t be long before the offers start coming in.