Definition of "Open house"

Just to be clear: an Open house is not when you invite friends over to meet your new house. At least not in the real estate world.

When you hear someone talking about an Open House, they mean an event where the agent or the home seller opens his house so that interested homebuyers walk in and see with their own eyes how awesome that house is.

Oh, so an Open House is that moment in movies when the guy goes to the house and there are fruit platters and cheesy background music?

Yes, but if you are a real estate agent or home seller doing an Open House, please avoid this cliché. An Open House exists to “wow” home buyers and nothing says wow like being creative, innovative and classy. From the invitation, to the welcome sign outside the house and the event itself.

Because image is everything and the first impression matters, agents usually “dress” the house prior to the Open House. They normally:

-   Mow the lawn
-   Clean the bathrooms and the kitchen thoroughly
-   And sometimes even rearrange the furniture in a way that the house looks bigger and brighter

And of course: quality snacks to win clients by their stomach are a must at an Open House.

No wonder agents use the verb “to stage” when talking about the preparation for an open house, right?

Real Estate tip:

Liked the concept? Read our blog article and learn how to Optimize your next open house
.

Don't like the concept? You can try the Virtual Cyber Tours: The New Way to Show Properties.

Know where to find the best real estate agents with the coolest open houses? Look no further; check out The OFFICIAL Real Estate Agent Directory
® !

 

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

When you hear a real estate agent talking about a client that's an empty nester, it means said client suffers from empty nest syndrome. But what is Empty nest syndrome? Empty nest ...

Federal government agency monitoring and regulating corporate financial reporting and disclosure, use of accounting principles, auditing practices, and trading activities. Its regulations ...

Latin: now for then. Descriptive of actions which are performed after a deadline has elapsed, but retroactively have the same effect as if they were carried out in a timely manner. For ...

Loose combination of small rocks and pebbles used for a gutter, driveway, landscaping, or roadbed. ...

Company formed for the purpose of owning securities of one or more real estate corporations and assuming control over their practices and management. The other corporations are generally ...

A method of brick construction where the bricks are laid with their sides facing outward. ...

Amount received by a seller of real property in the form of credit rather than cash. Interest is typically received on the note. If a house is sold for $300,000 of which $100,000 is cash ...

Economic principle determining the market prices of goods, services, and property. The principle states there is a pricing relationship between supply and demand for real property. Economic ...

The Asset Depreciation Range (ADR) was introduced by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 1971. It was designed to help businesses determine how long to use certain assets, like equipment ...

Popular Real Estate Questions