The managing director of an agency operating in prime central London and other high-value locations in southern England says the Open House concept no longer works for the most expensive properties.
“At the top end of the market, Open Houses do not work anymore” claims Alex Newall of Hanover Private Office.
“There are not enough Ultra High Net Worth Individuals who want to mingle with their competition. Even buying agents don’t bother to show up” he says.
“I think they might be helpful for the £250,000 to £1.5m market, but above this level Open Houses are a bit done” Newall has told the Daily Mail.
In the same article Strutt & Parker reveals it had 1,100 viewing and 32 sales as a result of its national Open House day back in February; it is hoping for a repeat when it has its next in early October.
“The key is to make viewings as easy as possible with minimal interaction with the agent. Some buyers still find it daunting to register with agents and this makes the whole process so much easier” says the agency’s Simon Backhouse.
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So Strutt & Parker sling mud at the wall and hope some will stick? What about qualifying buyers or are they just interested in promoting tourism?
I have an issue with Open House. Presumably the agency invites all its registered buyers, as they do with a private sale. It advertises the Open House to attract buyers. As it does with a private sale. So the number of interested buyers should be the same in both instances. Unless, of course, the Open House attracts time wasters that would not pass scrutiny of pre-qualifying and thus enable the agency to claim success in number of viewings. And, of course, look how busy and 'forward thinking' our agency is.
If vendors really understood why agencies run Open House, there would be far fewer of them.
Agreed, Open House puts undue pressure on the prospective buyer and the agent unfortunate enough to be given the task. There can be no communication between the agent and buyer when people are just milling about the place. Tyre-kickers like them though.
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