Have you ever seen that open house sign with balloons, and promises of refreshments inside. Have you ever thought about all the work that goes into making that open house, both on seller and the broker’s end.
In is a recent New York Times article written by Ms. Christine Haughney, the author follows a family in their process of selling their Brooklyn home. The article specifically follows the struggles of the young family with their daily weekend open houses.
Before every Sunday they had to pack up their baby toys, their baby, and the rest of the family and remove themselves from the apartment so the broker can do their job selling their space. The family quickly gets tired of being expelled every Sunday, so when they got their offer close to their asking price, they quickly accepted. They were extremely tired of the open house routine and went against the advice of their broker to wait until Spring for a stronger market.
Now do you think that the family made the right decision? We will have to wait to see what happens to the market in Spring.
The article also shows the flip side of the coin, with the hard work a broker can put into selling a condo unit. For example, a broker was trying to sell a five-floor walk up in Brooklyn. He had to highlights aspects of the apartment with signs around the unit, like signs on the windows emphasizing the strong sunlight, and images of how the units would look like if they were furnished.
In the end, brokers and sellers alike put a lot of patience and work into creating these open houses for all you out there to enjoy. I hope you appreciate them a little more, and happy hunting.
