dixon.daniel•3d agoMost Upvoted

Switched from open houses to targeted mailers after one terrible Saturday

I used to spend every Saturday sitting in a random house hoping someone would walk in. After 6 months of maybe 2 serious buyers total, I tried something different. Started sending out 50 handwritten notes to addresses in a 3 block radius of my listings. First month I got 4 private showings from neighbors who knew the area. Has anyone else had better luck with direct mail over open houses?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.christopher3d ago

Hang on, I gotta push back a little here. Open houses aren't always a waste, and I think we're too quick to write them off. The real value isn't the random buyer walking through the door, it's the fact that you're sitting in that house for three hours where you can meet the neighbors who actually stop by. I've had more luck just chatting with the people who live on the street and asking who they know looking to move in. Plus those handwritten notes and mailers can feel like junk mail too if you send out too many. Sometimes that personal touch of just being there in person and shaking a hand still beats a piece of paper.

eric_price3d ago

Open houses are basically a waste of time for most agents unless you're in a hot market where people are already lining up. The neighbor trick is gold though, those people actually care about their property values and know the comps better than anyone. I did something similar but with postcards instead of handwritten notes, got 3 leads in the first 2 weeks. People just like getting something real in the mail instead of another generic email blast. It feels more personal and less like spam. Plus the ROI is way better than sitting around for 5 hours eating bad cookies.