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Rainmaker
911,328
Jeff Pearl
RE/MAX Distinctive / LIC in VA - Lovettsville, VA
Full Service Full Time Realtor

The majority of agents don't seem to have much interest in Broker Opens anymore around here. I suppose it can depend on the price range and location of the property? The last Broker Open I scheduled was a huge waste of time, food, and money. Agents can preview properties anytime they want, so why try to fit a Broker's open into their schedule, especially if they don't have any buyers that might be interested. Many agents use them to just to bs the sellers to make it look like they are generating interest from agents, but they forget to mention that the only agents that showed up were from their own office.

Dec 10, 2015 06:53 PM
Rainmaker
2,362,942
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

because no one comes to Broker Opens

Dec 10, 2015 09:54 PM
Rainmaker
3,340,443
Sally K. & David L. Hanson
EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI
WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

Brokers opens are not always attended by brokers who have any interest...or more importantly...buyers for the house...and you should feed them why ?

Dec 10, 2015 06:53 PM
Rainmaker
564,720
Women of Westchester Working Together
Women of Westchester Working Together - West Harrison, NY
Women helping Women get ahead

Some feel this is a waste of time (and money...for the food) as agents can visit a home any time w/ a real buyer and/or preview at their convenience.  

Dec 10, 2015 06:25 PM
Rainmaker
4,882,355
Richard Weeks
Dallas, TX
REALTOR®, Broker

I think it depends on the local market.  In east Dallas they are very popular; however in north Dallas not so much.

Dec 10, 2015 10:18 PM
Ambassador
1,452,819
Susan Emo
Sotheby's International Realty Canada - Brokerage - Kingston, ON
Kingston and the 1000 Islands Area

When they stopped printing MLS BOOKS, Broker's Opens, Caravan Tours etc  all went the way of the Dodo.  People have shown they will not be inconvenienced. . .  why get in your car when you can look online or preview on your own schedule?  At least in my area this is the case!

Dec 10, 2015 10:00 PM
Rainmaker
4,434,127
Gita Bantwal
RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA
REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

In my area agents do not come to a brokers open unless it is their friend hosting it.

Dec 10, 2015 08:04 PM
Rainmaker
4,572,117
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

I like broker open houses but I treat them in a similar manner as any open house event.   Lots of signs.  Information available.  Things about me.   I'm going to be there anyway -- why not make the most of it.  In our market, prospective buyers often attend brokers open too -- I think they feel they are getting a jump on the competition and an insider's view of the business.  

Dec 10, 2015 05:35 PM
Rainmaker
979,496
Troy Erickson AZ Realtor (602) 295-6807
HomeSmart - Chandler, AZ
Your Chandler, Ahwatukee, and East Valley Realtor

Michael - Broker opens and open houses are both not very common in my area. However, we have broker tours that are usually sponsored by title companies and lenders, and those seem to be well attended. They usually serve lunch at the final home on the tour.

I think if you could get agents to attend a broker open, that would be the way to go. But if nobody attends, why do them.

Most broker opens I have seen are for high-end luxury properties.

Dec 12, 2015 06:50 AM
Rainmaker
4,319,419
Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Andover, MA
Andover, MA: Andover Luxury Homes For Sale

TeamChi - Complete Home Inspections, Inc. good idea and reason for broker's open house.

Somehow, the charm of a new listing is lost - thanks to Internet.....

I do not like either!

Dec 11, 2015 03:28 PM
Rainmaker
3,988,007
Debbie Reynolds, C21 Platinum Properties
Platinum Properties- (931)771-9070 - Clarksville, TN
The Dedicated Clarksville TN Realtor-(931)320-6730

I have found the producing agents don't have the time to go to broker opens. Broker opens are costly (food and drink and door prizes) and do not get good results. A dozen agents is not a good return on your money especially if they are not the producers and just came for lunch and prizes.

Dec 11, 2015 09:23 AM
Rainmaker
2,224,473
Debbie Laity
Cedaredge Land Company - Cedaredge, CO
Your Real Estate Resource for Delta County, CO

Well we do a weekly property tour of new listings. So we get to see the inventory that way. 

Dec 11, 2015 08:36 AM
Rainmaker
3,986,258
William Feela
WHISPERING PINES REALTY - North Branch, MN
Realtor, Whispering Pines Realty 651-674-5999 No.

The agents allready know aobut the property especially if it has been entered on the MLS properly.  also, not many agents are going to buy the house

Dec 11, 2015 07:25 AM
Rainmaker
1,502,998
Ryan Huggins - Thousand Oaks, CA
https://HugginsHomes.com - Thousand Oaks, CA
Residential Real Estate and Investment Properties

Out here, unless you are serving food or offering a raffle prize you won't get many (or any) brokers stopping by.  Those that do stop by are only there for the food/raffle prize.

 

Any agents that are actively working with buyers will see the house in the MLS and should be able to get a feel for it from the pictures or my video tours.

 

Open houses are primarily for agents to get leads on buyers and sellers, they rarely sell the home because of an open house.  Brokers opens don't give you that opportunity and they sell homes even less frequently.  Not much of a reason to do them.  I did one for a million dollar plus listing in a highly desired area but only because one across the street sold at the broker's open, to an agent who brought their client with them, and my seller requested one be held.

Dec 11, 2015 07:05 AM
Rainmaker
617,935
David Gibson CNE, 719-304-4684 ~ Colorado Springs Relocation
Colorado Real Estate Advisers LLC - Colorado Springs, CO
Relocation, Luxury & Lifestyle residential

Michael,
Unless you really offer outstanding catered food, drinks, and great door prizes brokers won’t come. And brokers who are busy rarely come. The agents with no business will be glad to come eat your food, drink and  take your expensive door prize.

Dec 11, 2015 06:36 AM
Ambassador
6,393,154
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

It seems that most broker opens are not as well attended as they should be and so many stop hosting them.

Dec 11, 2015 06:28 AM
Rainmaker
32,051
Amelia Robinette
NoVa House and Home - Frankly Realty - Falls Church, VA
Education, Innovation, Service

I haven't found Broker's Opens to be effective - waste of time/money.

What is effective is picking up the phone and calling agents, or at least sending them a text or email to let them know I have a listing coming soon, then send another targeted email when it's listed. I search and target agents who have sold at least 2 properties in the neighborhood in the last year.

Dec 11, 2015 06:16 AM
Rainmaker
4,800,082
Gabe Sanders
Real Estate of Florida specializing in Martin County Residential Homes, Condos and Land Sales - Stuart, FL
Stuart Florida Real Estate

I don't understand it either, Michael.

Dec 11, 2015 03:41 AM
Rainmaker
5,583,278
Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

we often provide open house events for agents....

Dec 11, 2015 02:04 AM
Rainmaker
212,755
Stefan Winter
Real Estate in IL & NV | Owner of Real Estate Web Tech | Daily Vlogger - Las Vegas, NV
Owner - Winter Group & Real Estate Web Tech

I think to get a turn out you have to hold a brokers open in an area they are common in. Otherwise you wont get much traffic.

Dec 11, 2015 01:01 AM
Rainmaker
5,868,482
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Brokers in Denver are too busy with current business to go to Broker opens.  Most are not well attended, and only by those not doing much business.

Dec 10, 2015 11:03 PM
Rainer
57,189
Jack Gerbehy
Egg Harbor Township, NJ

I see Brokers Opens as the trades open and Open Houses as the Buyer Client open. One thing I like about Brokers Opens is the feedback that Christine Gerbehy gets from all the pros's that show up.... for a new Realtor it helps to get input from 20-30 more sets of eyes that might notice something you didn't. It does get expensive quickly since the better the spread the better the turnout & when you advertise that food will be supplied by " Insert great food place here " you get a better turn out ( I guess everyone likes a free lunch ). Do it on a property that going to get you the best bang for the buck.... 

Dec 10, 2015 10:43 PM
Rainmaker
1,543,634
Thomas J. Nelson, REALTOR ® e-Pro CRS RCS-D Vets
Big Block Realty 858.232.8722 - La Jolla, CA
CEO of Vision Drive Realty - Coastal San Diego

Opinion: I think both are a waste of time these days. They are traditional activities replaced by the Internet & MLS online.

To your question: They prefer to prospect over network, is the simple answer. They think they will get quality buyer & seller leads from an open and why bother hosting their fellow board members? 

When I did them, I did both or none. They were a package deal. There is value in networking with other agents, sometimes more so than the 4 people that came through in the 3 hours you did an open. They ate your food and put a false e-mail pr phone on your registry...if they didn't refuse to sign in. 

Dec 10, 2015 10:40 PM
Rainmaker
1,844,271
Lyn Sims
Schaumburg, IL
Real Estate Broker Retired

No one shows up! Lazy bunch of loafers. They are supposed to help agents get familiar with their market, etc & somehow it's gone off the rails. 

I want a $1 for every agent that showed up to my broker open & then NEVER showed my listing EVER but ate me out of house & home or took my gas cards, etc. It would be a great Xmas with that $$.

Dec 10, 2015 10:28 PM
Rainmaker
1,466,207
Michael Setunsky
Woodbridge, VA
Your Commercial Real Estate Link to Northern VA

TeamChi - Complete Home Inspections, Inc. It seems to be the menu that dictates the Broker Opens that are attended. It's hard to look at a property when you are just there to eat.

Dec 10, 2015 10:26 PM
Rainmaker
1,712,676
Joe Pryor
The Virtual Real Estate Team - Oklahoma City, OK
REALTOR® - Oklahoma Investment Properties

Brokers Opens are one of the biggest time wasters I can think of. Normally you see agents who don't do a lot of business and have time on their hands. If you have a survey, the answers will depend on the quality of your food.

Dec 10, 2015 10:07 PM
Rainmaker
3,416,038
Scott Godzyk
Godzyk Real Estate Services - Manchester, NH
One of the Manchester NH's area Leading Agents

They work better for new construction or unique homes. Most of my kistings have multiple offers in days so need to go through an open house of any kind.

Dec 10, 2015 09:45 PM
Rainmaker
3,071,489
Tony and Suzanne Marriott, Associate Brokers
Serving the Greater Phoenix and Scottsdale Metropolitan Area - Scottsdale, AZ
Haven Express @ Keller Williams Arizona Realty

We don't do Open Houses or Broker Opens...

Dec 10, 2015 09:38 PM
Rainmaker
921,504
Annette Lawrence , Palm Harbor, FL 727-420-4041
ReMax Realtec Group - Palm Harbor, FL
Making FLORIDA Real Estate EZ

Agents are to overwhelmed keeping all the plates in the air as related to their business. There is little two way benefit in a brokers open.

So, what can the host agent do the create benefit?

You can feed 'em.

You can have a mortage broker or title agent offer free apps.

A photographer showing his craft.

Free gift card

Door prize.

None of these actually are of benefit to the attendee agent. So they have quit coming.

After all, ins't everything they need to know on the Internet?

Doing a little brain storming, what would create the desire to attend an event of like minded professionals who actually share a common problem?

Dec 10, 2015 09:35 PM
Rainmaker
5,104,931
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

In Charlotte, 98% of agents do not hold broker opens... and they are poorly attended. If I want to preview a home, I can make an appointment at my convenience to do so.

Dec 10, 2015 08:55 PM
Rainer
150,416
Michael Thacker - Re/Max Real Estate Center - Louisville
Re/Max Real Estate Center - The Thacker Group - Louisville, KY
Your best friend who just happens to be a Realtor

I still have a LOT of attendance at my open houses, as many as 65 people at one this past year. We got multiple offers just that day.

Dec 10, 2015 08:31 PM
Rainmaker
2,182,502
Michael J. Perry
KW Elite - Lancaster, PA
Lancaster, PA Relo Specialist

It's because most who have tried them did not do the correct things to get 20+ agents in attendence . Some almost got completely shut out ! You must get on your cell several days and personally invite agents to attend(even if it's just a VM message) !!!

Dec 10, 2015 07:58 PM
Rainmaker
5,216,398
Wayne Martin
Wayne M Martin - Chicago, IL
Real Estate Broker - Retired

Broker opens not as popular as they once where, but can be very effective!

Dec 10, 2015 07:44 PM
Rainmaker
7,836,129
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Broker Opens are still common in our area on Tuesdays for lunch.

Dec 10, 2015 07:17 PM
Rainer
42,670
Fred Hafdelin
Weichert Realtors - Mountain Lakes, NJ

We always have a Brokers Open House and send invitations to every Agent we can. Our office has more than 100 Agents and at least 1/2 of them show up. I feel that the Brokers open house gives the Home more exposure than just having the Home come up on the hot Sheets as a new listing. Like Michael Jacobs we also put up signs and have information re the Home available to the Agents. I  find that we also get good feedback from the Agents re their opinions re pricing , staging, etc..

Dec 10, 2015 06:34 PM