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The weekend open house is a time-honored tradition in real estate sales, but has it outlived its effectiveness? Quite possibly, according to a new survey conducted by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. The survey results hint at the notion that public open houses may be more beneficial for the agents themselves than for the home sellers.

Almost all the agents who responded to the survey (97 percent) had held public open houses, but only 41 percent believe those events help sell the home that's being showcased. Thirty-two percent believe public open houses attract many potential buyers, but nearly three-fourths also believe those buyers are more likely to buy a home other than the one being held open. And 62 percent say most people attending open houses aren't serious buyers at all.

Even though open houses may be of only marginal benefit for sellers, they aren't necessarily a total loss for sharp agents. In addition to bringing in buyers for other homes, open houses create opportunities for agents to sign listing agreements with neighbors who stop by to see the open home. Fifty-five percent of the survey respondents agreed with the statement that open houses help them generate new listing contracts.

Public open houses also present a security issue for home sellers and agents. "Whether or not to hold an open house is a concern among agents," says Jack Harris, a research economist with the Texas A&M center. "Agents must be on-site for the duration of open houses. Safety is a growing concern because there is no way to know whether a visitor is a serious buyer, just curious or has more sinister motives."

Despite the potential for meeting prospects, many agents find open houses troublesome, dangerous and generally a waste of time. The first lesson for home sellers is: Unless your home is unusual (i.e., difficult to sell), you might want to spend your weekends enjoying your own backyard, rather than turning your home over to your real estate agent. If your agent is gung-ho on public open houses, find out what supplemental marketing efforts (e.g., advertising the open house in a local newspaper) he or she will use to attract serious buyers for your home to the event.

The falling favor of public open houses may be partially attributable to new marketing techniques, including real estate Web sites, cable television infomercials and yard signs that transmit radio messages about the home. Weekday agent open houses (also called "broker opens") remain popular and, agents say, worthwhile for sellers. "Agent open houses are held when the listing agent invites other agents to view the home when first placed on the market, hoping one or more agents will have a buyer interested in the home," Harris explains.

Virtually all of the respondents had held agent open houses. More than half believe agent open houses are effective and 65 percent believe they're more effective than public open houses.

The second lesson for home sellers is: On the day when your agent holds a broker open, be sure your home is as presentable and attractive as you possibly can make it.

There is no question that selling a home is an important event. A home sale represents transition, movement and change. Big money is involved. Households move from the known and comfortable to the unknown and a period of adjustment. There may be job changes, new schools, distance from old friends and the possibility of new ones.

No less important, a home sale by itself can be complex. There will be people looking at your house, documents to sign and issues to be negotiated.

Because a home sale involves an array of both personal and business concerns, it's important to get it done right. You need to carefully prepare your home, understand the market and see what alternatives are realistically available. The old motto "be prepared" is a good guide in such circumstances.

What's an acceptable offer?
The goal of every seller is to have a line of buyers outside the front door, each clutching higher and higher offers. And while this has been known to happen, in most markets there is some balance between the number of buyers and sellers. A number of factors determine whether a buyer's offer is acceptable. They include:

· Is the offer at or near the asking price? Is the offer above the asking price?

· Has the buyer accepted the asking price or something close? Has the buyer then buried thousands of dollars in discounts and seller costs within tiny clauses and contract additions?

· What is the alternative to the buyer's offer? If a home has not attracted an offer in months, then sellers need to determine if a better deal is possible -- recognizing that each month costs are being incurred for mortgage payments, taxes and insurance.

· Does the owner have enough time to wait for other offers?

· What if no other offers are received?

· What if several offers are received? Do you choose the high offer from the purchaser with questionable finances who may not be able to close, or a somewhat lesser offer from a buyer with preapproved financing?

In each case, owners -- with assistance from REALTORSŪ -- will need to carefully review offers, consider marketplace options and then determine whether an offer is acceptable. What is a counter-offer?

When a home is made available for sale the owner is essentially making an offer to buyers: For a given number of dollars and other terms you can acquire this home. Buyers, in turn, can respond with several options:

· Not interested.

· Yes, we'll buy on the owner's terms.

· We're interested and here's our counter-offer.

A counter-offer is nothing more than a new offer. And just as the buyer had three options in response to the owner's original price and terms, the seller can now choose one of three reactions: accept the offer, decline the offer or make a fresh counter-offer.

Offers and counter-offers reflect the back-and-forth activity of the marketplace. It's an efficient and practical process -- but also one that may contain tricky clauses and hidden costs. The REALTORŪ who lists your home can explain the local bargaining process in detail and assist in the actual negotiations.

How do you negotiate?
It's sometimes argued that negotiation must produce one "winner" and one "loser." Others suggest that a "win/win" situation is possible where each side gets something of value.

Real estate bargaining typically involves compromises by both sides. It's not war; it's not winner-take-all; and it's not the time to take personally any comments made by purchasers.

Instead, negotiating should be seen as a natural business process; buyers should be treated with respect; and owners should never lose sight of either their best interests or their baseline transaction requirements. These are the standards unique to each owner, which must be met before the home can be sold.