By: Guest Author, Virginia REALTORS^® Senior Vice President of Member Programs, Adam Smith

We asked some of the top-producing REALTORS^® from all over the Commonwealth what makes their open houses successful. Here are a few innovative tips they shared with us.

• Consider hosting a Friday Wine and Cheese Open House. Be sure to premarket the open house on social media and with your colleagues to generate more leads. Also, invite the neighbors!
• Connect and partner with a local business owner to showcase their items at the open house (for example, Lula Roe, Mary Kay, a lending company, staging companies, etc.). You are basically creating a pop-up shop, but the business will also be marketing the house to their sphere of influence for more exposure.
• Consider a themed open house, perhaps around a holiday. For example, pictures with Santa or the Easter Bunny – people love the idea of pictures but don’t want to wait in long lines at the mall!
• If the neighborhood is having a community events, like a 5k race, a parade, or seasonal festivals where people are out walking around, team up with other listings in the neighborhood to be open during that time, creating a Mega Neighborhood Open House Event.

For more ideas on hosting a unique open house, check out the recent Inman article on 10 tips for snagging a buyer (and tons of leads) at your next open house.