9 Tricks for Showings That Make Buyers Say ‘This is it!’

Buyers love to see homes, and your best move is to make sure your listing stands out above the rest.

Showings and previews are chances to make someone fall head over heels, just as you did when you first saw your home. Work with your agent to make sure your showings are a massive hit.

These days, your agent will conduct in-person showings with appropriate safety and health practices. Your agent might also recommend a virtual showing, walking a buyer through the property one on one, using Zoom or Facetime.

No matter how prospective buyers view your home, these tips will help you show it at its best.

1. Time It Right

Showings and even some open houses are by appointment these days and might limit the number of people in your place at once. To maximize traffic, avoid having your open house during holidays, big community events (marathon days, for example), or unofficial "holidays" like Super Bowl Sunday.

Sundays are the typical day for showing a house, but some agents will hold a house open on Saturdays and week days as well, giving your home more opportunity to be seen.

2. Let Your Agent Take the Lead

Your real estate agent has two important roles. To you, they are the director, giving you instructions on how to prepare for visitors and what to do during the event. To buyers, your agent is the host. They will welcome viewers, introduce your home’s impressive features, and take questions from the audience.

Your job is to make your house look like a million bucks — or more like $300,000, depending on your price range. (Read on for tips on cleaning and spiffing up your home.)

The job of your agent, an expert on your local real estate market and what makes buyers tick, is to take care of the rest. That will include:

Staging your home, or recommending a staging company that you can hire
Hosting showings or open houses
Communicating with home buyers and buyers’ agents
Receiving feedback during the open house and communicating that feedback to you (Feedback is valuable, giving you crucial information that will help you present the home at it’s best.)

Your agent will also recommend that you leave while they show off your house to strangers, but make sure you are available by phone in case an offer comes in! Why should you leave?

A homeowner’s presence can make it awkward for the buyer. Buyers want to make assessments on their own, without worrying about how the seller might react or try to influence them.
Buyers may have trouble picturing themselves living in the house when the owner is right there.
Sometimes sellers say too much. You might point out something that you think is a nice feature or amenity of your home, when it’s something that might turn off a buyer. (That busy arcade bar down the block may have been your favorite place to meet friends and play Pac-Man during weekends, but it could be a deal breaker for a buyer looking for a peaceful block.) You might blurt out something that could tip your negotiating hand, like how motivated you are to sell (soon!), or that you always wanted to update the retro kitchen — but just never got around to it.

The last thing you want buyers to think after the showing or open house is, “This place needs work,” or “This seller is desperate — I have the upper hand.” So, let your agent take the lead. This won’t be their first rodeo. Agents know the nuanced ways to show your home in its best light so that buyers will oooh and ahhh. Agents also know how to strategically answer questions from buyers to help set you up for success later, during negotiation.

Your agent can also stage a broker’s open house on your behalf. Unlike standard open houses — where buyers can stop by — at broker’s open houses, only real estate agents and other industry professionals are invited to attend. Generally, a broker’s open is held within the first few days of a house being put on the market. Complimentary lunch is often served as an incentive to get more people to show up.

There are two main benefits of having a broker’s open house:

It gives your listing more exposure.
It allows you to get feedback from real estate agents on your home.

If your house “shows well,” as they say in the industry, the agents who toured your home may recommend it to one (or more) of their buyer clients. If your home doesn’t get rave reviews, your agent will relay that feedback to you, and may suggest improvements before the next open house, such as staging certain rooms.

3. Try Some Simple Staging

Agents say the best way to primp your home for its big day is to stage it. Staging can be as complex as bringing in all new furniture and decor to just displaying a bouquet of of fresh flowers in the entryway, setting your dining room table to make it look inviting, or turning on your outdoor sprinklers shortly before visitors arrive to make your lawn sparkle.

4. Clean Like Crazy

When your home is on the market, you need to keep it in showing shape — not only for the open house, but also for any scheduled showings with buyers. It is imperative the home be clean for its listing photos, as more buyers will see photos of your home than will actually visit.

Make sure appliances, windows, and mirrors are fingerprint-free. Clean and organize your closets, cabinets, and under the sinks. Clear every bit of clutter and get rid of it or put it in storage.

It can be a great investment in the sale of your home to hire a house cleaning service to do the work for you. A professional cleaning service costs around $115 to $230 on average. If you’re not sure about which service to hire, ask your agent to recommend cleaners.

5. Do a Smell Check

If buyers get a whiff of something funky, they’re going to run — not walk — out of your open house or showing. A week prior to the open house, ask your agent to do an honest, no-holds-barred smell check. Some possible smell solutions:

If your house has the aroma of your beloved pet(s), deep clean the carpets, relocate the litter box, and take steps to eliminate all olfactory traces of Fluffy.
If the basement is dank and musty, buy a dehumidifier to remove air moisture and run a fan to circulate the air.
If the kitchen drain stinks, drop in a cup of baking soda, then two cups of white vinegar. Enjoy the bubbling, then let the mixture sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Finally, run hot water for 15 to 30 seconds to flush the odor.

6. Put Your Pictures (and Valuables) Away

You want your home to feel cozy and inviting, but not like someone specific (you, for example) is living there. Personal belongings such as family photos, awards, and religious art can distract home buyers and make it harder for them to imagine themselves living in your home. You don’t have to go overboard — the idea isn’t to eliminate every trace of yourself — but consider temporarily hiding some pictures and personal effects out of sight during showings and open houses.

There’s a safety element to stowing your personal belongings, too: Though your agent will be at the open house, you’re inviting strangers into your home.

Securely store checkbooks, jewelry, prescription medications, family heirlooms, and other valuables.
Alert your neighbors to your open house date — as a courtesy, but also to ask that they let you know if they notice any suspicious activity, in the unlikely event suspicious activity occurs.
Make sure your agent signs visitors in and asks them to show I.D., so that you have a record of who was in your house. (Bonus: With the sign-in sheet, your agent can follow up with buyers to find out if anyone is interested in making an offer.)
Lock windows and doors after the open house.

We’re not suggesting that visitors have any intention other than potentially buying your home. It’s just a good idea, generally speaking, to keep your home secure.

7. Let the Light In

Light makes rooms look and feel larger. On showing or open house day, open all curtains and blinds to let natural light in.

When Agents show your home, they will turn on every light for the buyer. Make sure every light works, replace any burnt out bulbs inside and outside.

8. Give Your House Some Extra Curb Appeal

Buyers will judge your house on its outsides. Cut the grass, prune the trees, and trim the shrubs. Touch up porch fixtures and furniture with a little paint. Plant new shrubs or set out potted flowers.

Small, relatively low-budget outdoor enhancements will make your home look all the more enticing to buyers — and can add some last-minute value to its price.

9. Draw Attention to Your Home’s Best Features

After your agent signs in and welcomes buyers to your home, they typically will have some time to wander around on their own. Even though you won’t be there, you can still draw visitors’ attention to features in your home that you’d like to highlight.

Prior to the showing or open house, post (friendly, aesthetically pleasing) signs around the house with calls to action such as, “look down, new hardwood floors,” or “gas fireplace, push this button.” Buyers will likely appreciate the help in learning more about your home.

What to After Showings

After the showing ends, your agent will share with you what questions buyers asked and any comments they overheard by visitors. Buyers’ remarks will likely run the gamut, including some that could be negative. (“Why is the closet such a mess,” for example.)

The important thing is to stay open to buyers’ feedback, and to follow your agent’s advice about how to respond. Based on buyers’ reactions, your agent may recommend that you make certain repairs, do some painting, or invest in additional staging before your next open house. Whatever they advise, it’s not personal — it’s just the business of selling your home.

November 9, 2021