going to a neighbor's open house

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No they don't attract buyers, they attract potential new clients for the realtor. Why would anyone bother to wait for an open house when you can see a listed house pretty much anytime you feel like it?

We just sold our house last week, and we had people coming on virtually no notice ("we'll be there in 15 minutes, OK?") at all hours of day/evening. Nobody waits for an open house if they are truly looking to purchase, only if they're sort of curious and shopping around.

BTW, our house sold in 7 days with no open house and multiple offers--and there was constant traffic during the 2 weeks before we signed the final contract.

All of the offers on our house came from visitors to our open house. So your claim is inaccurate.

[Anonymous]

This is not about whether or not open houses bring in offers, but about neighbors thinking they are being good neigbors when they decide to come.
If you want to be nice, stay away, and tell your kids not to go either.
I know someone who in the did not sell their house, and ended up living in there for much longer than thought. Knowing which neighbors walked thru just left a bad taste in the mouth.

I assume you are the kind of people who will not have a smoky bbq or a noisy party at the same time right next door.

[Anonymous]

I think it's fine for neighbors to go to open houses. It brings in a lot of traffic, makes the house look more desirable to the real buyers. We've sold two houses to people who first saw the house at the open house. And we sold our last house to someone brought in by a realtor. If the market is brisk, and your house is very desirable and priced well, why bother with an open house? But if the market is slower in your area, then by all means have an open house, and welcome the neighbors. We did. No neighbors brought their children, so leave yours at home. That IS tacky.