Using home opens effectively as part of a strategic sales campaign

Perth Real Estate Sales News & Market Insights

A common misconception amongst many agents and sellers is that weekly, scheduled home opens are essential in a property sales campaign. While home opens are useful, it's widely reported in the industry that more often than not, successful sales come from private viewings.

Let's dive a little deeper into the psychology of home opens.

Buyers attending home opens advertised on the property portals and agency websites, without prior engagement with the sales representative, are subconsciously (or consciously) emotionally guarded, and therefore less likely to absorb a home's ambience.

Further, an advertised home open sends a definitive message that the home still needs a buyer. While this may well be the case, sending this signal frequently can potentially harm the property's value.

People who attend home opens from pointer signs are often 'stickybeaks' or are not necessarily looking for that particular type of property. As a result, it's possible comments may be made which influence genuine buyers' perception of the home.

On the other hand, when a viewing is arranged by appointment, buyers are generally less guarded as they have already 'broken the ice' with the agent and commenced the rapport-building process. This enables the buyer to better immerse themselves in the home and allow the agent to 'read' their emotional response accurately.

Jonathan Marlow, Director of Sales and Performance at Xceed, comments;

"As the Xceed Sales team weren't reliant on home opens when the COVID-19 lockdown occurred, they continued with their appointment-setting protocol and experienced no downturn in sales volume (despite REIWA reporting an industry-wide decrease of approx 75% during this period). You could say it was 'business as usual".

There is absolutely a place for home opens in an effective property marketing campaign. The 'theatre' of a home open is where 'FOMO' is created - when buyers observe other buyers interacting with the home. However, a skilled agent will elicit a similar response in a private appointment, by intelligently creating awareness of other interested parties - particularly when appointments are booked in close succession.

In summary, Home Opens should be scheduled intermittently and with consideration given to:

• what message is being sent to the market
• how people are responding (some properties and/or areas may benefit more than others)

If you'd like to learn more about Xceed Real Estate's approach to an effective property marketing campaign, call Jonathan Marlow on 9207 2088 or email us at hello@xceedre.com.au.