Generally speaking, there are two types of open houses in the world of residential real estate.

First, there are real estate broker open houses where a marketing agent (the on who works for the seller) holds the subject property “open” so that other realtors may preview the house. This is beneficial to the other Realtors so that they may see the freshest inventory and possibly match the house with the needs of on of their buyer clients. This type of open house is a good idea.

Second, there are consumer open houses. This is where the marketing agent holds the subject house “open” (usually on a weekend afternoon) so that anyone who happens to be in proximity of the open house signs may come by and see the house. This type of open house is highly ineffective.

Nosy neighbors love these consumer open houses. It gives them a free peek inside their neighbor’s house-without their neighbors being there to stop them.

Unqualified buyers like consumer open houses too. What better way to see a house that you cannot afford that to go through on a freebie walk through like this? Of course, it has no benefit to the home owner, but the unqualified buyer is just looking for some free entertainment anyway. Why not give it to them?

Thieves are in favor of consumer open houses too. This year, in Hinsdale IL, a professionally-dressed couple had stolen a Cartier watch and some blank checks form the home owner’s check book. Upon entering the house, they had split up so that the marketing agent could not track them separately.

When that story unraveled, what fun it was for both the homeowner and marketing agent!

Oh. And there are the more common occurrences of prescription drugs disappearing in Clarendon Hills and Western Springs, but let us not beat a dead horse….

The bottom line: The only measurable benefit of a consumer open house is that a marketing agent may meet a prospective buyer who has not yet committed to a realtor. That marketing agent may pick up a new client as a result.

There is no benefit to a seller in having a consumer open house.

Any interested party will either inquire with their real estate agent and/or the marketing agent about the house. Then, under controlled conditions, the agent may focus on the qualified buyer and perform consultative selling.

Yeah, I know we all heard that story about someone who bought or sold a house form an open house. The reality is that it is such an infrequent occurrence that’s why it’s a newsworthy story!  It just does not happen with any regularity.

Historically, residential sales velocity looks like a bell curve. The peak of which is typically the month of April. As such, most people consider April to be the busiest month of the year for real estate sales. This is actually not the case.

Seeing how it takes an average of sixty days to close a residential real estate transaction (the time between the sales contract is signed and the day of closing the transaction), the most active real estate month is usually February.

Given that historical records tell us that February is the popular month for making residential estate deals, it is important to have your house on the market in advance of that month. So, my recommendation is to get your house on the real estate market in January so that it has enough market exposure time. Real estate brokers must be aware of the house as do prospective buyers. As such, any time between January 1 and mid-January is sufficient.

In any given year, it is popular to begin  the marketing effort after the first of the new year. Typically, the fourth quarter of the real estate marketing year is the slowest. And the slowest portion of the fourth quarter is the period of time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. During that time, most buyers are focused on year en festivities including time off, the holidays and the size of their year end bonus.

If you look at the peak residential sales cycle a bell curve, the peak of reported sales activity shows up during April. Given that it takes 60 days to close a real estate transaction, February tends to be the month with the most sales activity. Given that a reasonable exposure time needs to take place before a property will sell, it makes sense to get your house on the market in January.

When choosing a marketing agent, do not rely on the price opinion of the agent as the primary determinant of whether or not you will hire them. Take a look at their background, sales performance and their marketing plan.

Questions? Just e-mail Bryan@BryanBomba.com

Howard Brinton’s Star Power is a real estate industry educational group where top-producing realtors form across North America share ideas and best practices. At a recent Star Power webinar entitled Free Webinar: How to Gain Real Estate Market Share and Boost Your Real Estate Business During a Recession, the discussion centered around what is working and what is not. Here is a short list of what is not and what is not.

In essence, the following list follows the directive “Go to where the buyers are”.

• Property-focused websites that provide quick load times, large photographs of the property (not the agent), a large number of photographs and maps of the property location. An example is http://westsuburbanhomeseeker.com
• Powerful MLS listing-based websites put out by the large, national real estate brands with local customization by the individual realtors. Like, http://www.bbomba.illinoisproperty.com/remaxil/index.asp?acc=31190
• Blog sites with a specific neighborhood focus: http://blog.bryanbomba.com/
• Custom realtor websites with an all-encompassing approach (targeting those who may know very little about that specific real estate area), like: http://www.BryanBomba.com

Newspaper advertising is dead. The only viable use of a real estate newspaper ad is to enhance a realtor’s image so that a prospective seller may consider them as a listing agent. Buyers from the city of Chicago are not stopping off at the Shell gas station on Ogden Avenue in Hinsdale to pick up a Hinsdale Doings Newspaper to see what’s on market.

Questions? Just ask. Bryan@BryanBomba.com