If you are one of the approximately 1,600 people trying to sell in the Jupiter/Tequesta area you should read this:
This just in from Florida Realtors:
While 46 percent of homebuyers include open houses in their home searches, only 12 percent last year found the residence they eventually purchased through an open house or yard sign, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
There are Realtors on both sides of the debate concerning the value of open houses. Some host them to keep their options open, while others hold them to obtain new buyer clients or to attract shoppers who don't have computers at home.
Realtors who do not believe open houses are valuable say sellers don't like neighbors traipsing through the property, and that serious buyers prefer to view a home with their agent when other prospective buyers are not around. They point out that open houses account for few of their closed transactions.
However, most agents emphasize the importance of viewing a home in person – whether at an open house or private showing – because virtual tours do not showcase all of the home's features and can conceal flaws in the design as well as any defects.
They shouldn't have included the yard sign data with the open house data. Still the total is only 12%. I have posted before and still maintain that Open Houses serve as a method for agents to find buying clients, not to sell your house. And remember, I sold a home during an open house for $ 692,000 and I would still say they do not increase your value proposition.
Open houses were conceived decades ago before the Internet, Virtual Tours, You Tube, Google Earth and the like. It's time to let them die the quiet death they deserve, unless you are an agent looking for buyers.
Check out http://www.coastalfloridarealestate.net/ then send to your friends.
