Nationwide Open House Weekend April 20-21
Jump start the search for your dream home by taking advantage of the biggest two-day housing event in the world. Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21 Realtors® and realtor associations all over the U.S. and internationally will be holding open houses as part of the Nationwide Open House Weekend. Literally hundreds of thousands of open houses will be held all across the nation giving buyers a great opportunity to get an idea of what they can afford and what is available in their market.
A greater-than-average number of open houses allows buyers a stress free way of engaging with Realtors to ask questions and get information. Open houses are also a good time to ask real estate professionals about smart home improvements and what’s happening in your local market. Sellers can benefit from the high-visibility provided and the chance to promote traffic and drive home sales.
An open house gives potential home buyers an up close and personal look at the piece of real estate for sale and gives the seller a chance to put your best foot forward.
An open house showing provides you the opportunity to show off your home’s best features. Open house showings may possibly lead to a quicker sale. Buyers want to see their future selves living in the home they are looking at. If they can see themselves living in it, then they can see themselves buying it. Even in our technology driven world where home buyers look through dozens of homes for sale online before stepping foot in one, open houses remain a valuable resource.
Last year, 45 percent of all buyers used an open house as a source in their search process, according to the National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. At this time mortgage rates are still at record lows, prices have not yet started escalating and rents continue to increase. The Nationwide Open House weekend presents an ideal opportunity for buyers to realize that the economy is not as bad for buyers as they may believe.
Consumer confidence is improving and so is the real estate market. Working with an experienced and knowledgeable Realtor is key in this ever-shifting real estate market, whether you are buying or selling. Approximately 89 percent of buyers purchase homes through a real estate agent while only 9 percent of sellers sold their home without assistance from an agent.
Realtors deliver invaluable insights into what sells a home and are the most trusted resource for real estate information. They know what buyer’s value and what conditions will help or hurt a homes ability to sell. By agreeing to act as your Realtor, an agent is obligated to provide you with loyalty, reasonable care, disclosure, obedience to lawful instruction, confidentiality, and accountability. This means they must put their client’s interest first and negotiate the best price and terms for their client. In addition they will spend lots of time on pricing, marketing, screening, scheduling, and completing stacks of paperwork.
Joining in the nationwide event, Springshouses.com will be giving away prizes to folks who register at participating open houses. All entries will be entered into The Gazette’s drawing to win a Grand Prize of $500 cash, Visa gift cards or dining certificates.
Pikes Peak Association of Realtors (PPAR) is also sponsoring a sweepstakes. Visitors can register at participating open houses to win big prizes including iPads or Kindle® Fire HD’s. The drawing will be held at PPAR on May 2 and prizes will be awarded on May 23. The Gazette, PPAR, and NAR strongly encourage everybody to participate in the open house weekend, even if you don’t think you can be a buyer.
Check it out. You never know. And you can still look at a lot of great homes. To find open houses in your area and neighborhoods throughout the Pikes Peak region, visit www.springshouses.com.