National Open House Weekend – Promotion At Its Worst?
The weekend before last, (April 10-11) was National Open House weekend. Pushed by local Realtor associations and brokerages, this was to be an all out assault meant to encourage home buyers to take advantage of current low interest rates, high inventory (in some areas) and the federal tax credits (only good for contract through the end of April).
But was it a good idea? And did it work?
In the Washington Metropolitan area, I will go with an unequivocal no…and no.
We are fortunate to be in a market that is clearly recovering. As an indication, lenders are giving many “close-in” DC neighborhoods the stamp of “stable” — up a notch from the previous designation of “declining”. We have been seeing the return of multiple offers on properties that are well priced in many localities.
Artificially Producing A “Fire-sale Perception”?
So what did National Open House weekend do for us in the close-in DC Metro area? Well, it surely made many employees at The Washington Post happy, where open house ads took up more space than we’ve seen in over a year. The result? A perception of a higher absorption rate that diluted the number of potential buyers going to each open house.
The “Open HouseFest” vs. The “After Party”
One of my sellers REALLY wanted me to hold his house open last weekend because he thought that his garden was looking particularly beautiful. He owns a home in a highly desirable area of Northwest Washington, DC and the house itself has tremendous curb appeal. Continue reading this post