If your real estate business is struggling to make the most of a slow winter, it’s time to focus on the things that can help your business stand out from the crowd. The real estate industry has changed, but the fundamentals are still the same – you need to build strong relationships, offer great service and be in the right place at the right time.
Here are few tips on how to hold an open house in the winter in East Hanover and Morris County – tips that could mean the difference between a sale and, well, the other alternative.
How To Hold An Open House In The Winter In East Hanover and Morris County
Market Creatively and Cast a Wide Net
Before you try to successfully hold an open house in the winter in East Hanover and Morris County, you have to get buyers there in the first place. And that usually means early, broad, and creative marketing – and then, of course, a top-notch open house.
In addition to the traditional online listing sites, you should also use Facebook and other social media platforms that you have. Then you can go outside the box. If there’s a local winter event, you could hand out flyers or put up signs. Another possibility is a sneak-preview block party because you never know how many interested friends or relatives of your neighbors may show up.
Make it Comfortable and Inviting
Maybe you like to keep your thermostat set at 65, but the people who come to your open house probably won’t like it. Keep your home comfortable and inviting to induce a receptive mood in your visitors and to keep them there longer.
You could, for example, have a cheery fire going the fireplace. And don’t forget the power of refreshments – maybe cookies and hot cider or hot chocolate on a cold winter’s day. Also, if the open house takes place during the day, pull back the drapes to let the sunshine and solar heat in.
Use Minimal Seasonal Décor
Another good idea is to put out little to no seasonal décor and dressings. You just never know what point visitors may occupy on the religious spectrum, and an offended potential buyer isn’t likely to become an actual buyer.
In fact, minimal seasonal décor can be more elegant and can more advantageously show off the features of your home. Besides, you won’t have all that clean-up and take-down afterward if you do sell the house – no wreaths and lights to take down and store, no yard ornaments to pack up and haul away. Just keep it simple and generic and tasteful.
Be Flexible
When it comes to working out scheduling to hold an open house in the winter in East Hanover and Morris County, some conflicts and inconveniences will be inevitable. But a good amount of flexibility on your part will go along way toward smoothing these out.
During the winter, especially around the holidays, people’s weekends are usually crammed with various social activities and family get-togethers. So if you can accommodate your visitors’ busy schedules by holding the open house on, say, a weekday evening, you’re likely to have a more populous and more successful open house. If, however, the weekend is the only thing that will work, you could try to have it early on a weekend day.
You could, for example, choose a Saturday morning and offer light brunch snacks. Another idea some have successfully deployed is to hold the open house during a popular football game, giving it a sort of tailgate-party theme.
The market is always changing. Just because a particular time of year is a tough time to sell in the past doesn’t mean it will be this year. In fact, many savvy home sellers are trying to capitalize on the slow season by getting their home on the market before the competition.
