Preparing for an open house involves cleaning, staging, and marketing. After putting in the time and effort you want to be sure it was well spent. When showing your Santa Rosa Beach real estate, there are several little-known ways to increase the number of guests that attend your open house. Before getting into these tips, here’s why you should consider selling in Santa Rosa Beach.

Santa Rosa Beach is a beautiful Florida community right next to the Gulf of Mexico. Its unique coastal dune lakes, which only occur here in the U.S., coupled with its great boating opportunities, a variety of architectural designs, and a lively community, all make this an attractive spot for buyers. The hot seller’s market of July is beginning to cool down in August, although it’s still a great time to sell. With this in mind, here’s how you can increase the guests attending your open house.

When hosting an open house, the first thing to do is time it correctly. To ensure you are attracting the largest group of potential buyers, it’s usually best to host an open house on weekend afternoons, between 12pm and 4pm. Give yourself at least a week to market the house online and in person, as you want to give visitors the chance to plan a visit to Santa Rosa Beach homes for sale. If you’re selling a more luxury property, you may want to consider a weekday open house in the evening.

Another step to take to attract more guest to your open house is to bump up the physical marketing. Before the event, create flyers clearly stating the date and time of the open house date. To keep track of how many people are planning on attending, create a QR code that allows people to RSVP to the event. Also plan out a signage route from all directions to your home, then set up clear and legible signs the day of. This will help people find your property, as well as create intrigue the day of.

When marketing your Santa Rosa Beach real estate online, make sure you’re connecting with the right people by setting filters and posting your listing on local services like MLS or Nextdoor. The number of listed homes for sale in Santa Rosa Beach has dropped 4.6% in the past month, which means yours has a better chance of sticking out.  Social media platforms like Facebook can be great areas to market your home’s listing, as it’s heavily used by millions of people and can increase the listing’s visibility.

Whether you’re promoting through more traditional or inventive means, photos are a must when marketing your home. A buyer will want to see how large the home’s kitchen is, or the ocean view from the backyard. Include several high-quality photos in a listing to create buyer interest. You may also want to consider live-streaming your open house the day of. As millennials make up more of the buyer population, they may be more willing to visit a home online than in person.

On the day of the open house, there are several simple ways to draw people into your home. For one, you can provide drinks or food to visitors to increase attendees. This creates a more casual and welcoming environment for buyers. Consider asking a local business to cater your open house, as they will have followings of their own and can help bring more people to your home showing.

If you would rather not serve food at your open house, consider creating a gift bag for guests. These bags can have anything from pens to hand sanitizer to a pack of gum, alongside a card with your contact information. Having a raffle can be a fun and engaging way to create buyer interest, as well as collect guest information as you’ll need their name and number to provide them with a prize.

Overall, the experience should be enjoyable for guests who attend. Make sure you talk to everybody who enters through the door, even if it’s only a quick introduction. Also be aware of the event’s energy, and adapt to different visitors’ demeanors and character. Overall, be friendly and available to answer any questions.

Although an open house should be an enjoyable experience, it’s also an informative experience for interested buyers. Make sure you have an easy and quick way to display all the information about the home itself, such as a detailed flier that describes both the house and the community it’s situated in. For example, you may want to add information about community food and wine events common in Santa Rosa Beach, nearby hiking trails, or one of the five state parks nearby.

The last step when hosting an open house for Santa Rosa Beach homes for sale is to stay connected with guests after the open house. It’s important that interested buyers have a way to contact your real estate agent. If you don’t give them a way to connect, or don’t record their information to reach out to them, then you can lose out on potential buyers.

Another way to stay connected, even to guests who may not be interested in buying your property, is to ask for their feedback about your open house before they leave. Create a paper form to fill out, or offer a link for a digital form guests can fill out on their phone. It’s always good to show guests you value your feedback, and you can use the information to tailor your home to buyer’s interests.

By following these tips, you’re sure to have a successful open house. If you need help selling your home in Santa Rosa Beach, contact Hilary Farnum-Fasth and Jacob Watkins to guide you through the process.