No one likes filling out surveys, we know that but open house survey questions are an important way for you to gain insight about the prospective clients you have coming to your house. Having the right open house survey form will help you get the information you need when you’re not able to physically engage with everyone that walks through the door.
I know that in recent years, the efficiency and effectiveness of open houses has been in question but there are so many factors that can determine how successful you are with your open house. I think a lot of agents struggle to have a quality open house because they’re not being proactive enough.
It’s not a party or an event, it’s an opportunity for you to get a lot of seller leads and even if they’re not interested in that house, you need to make contact with as many of those people as possible. Having an open house survey with the right questions can make the most of even an unsuccessful open house.
1. What is the first thing you thought when you pulled up to the house?
First impressions are everything when selling a house but we can’t all have listings that pop right when you pull up. Sometimes you’re selling a property with less curb appeal, the best you can do here is find out from the source what people like about the appeal and what they don’t.
Prospective buyers will notice every little thing and this is where an open house questionnaire comes in. They’ll notice little details like cracked blacktop in the driveway and peeling paint on the mailbox. Little things like this might seem unimportant, but it’s small changes that can make a big difference in negotiations.
2. What is the first thing you thought when you walked inside?
The same question but now for the inside of the house. What did they feel when they walked in? Were they wow’d or unimpressed? Everyone wants people to be impressed when they walk into their house for the first time and if they don’t get that feeling they may be inclined to look at a different home. Again, the best thing you can do is ask this question to find out what features to accentuate and which ones to hide away.
3. What did you like most about the property?
One reason why a broker open house questionnaire is so important is because you can find out what people like the most and milk it as much as possible. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, it’s part of the real estate marketing game. If multiple people expressed how much they liked the brightness of the open concept, consider taking more pictures of that on a bright sunny day for your listing.
Even if you don’t get any offers on the house you’re hosting, at least you received valuable market insight and if you implement the feedback, you’ll be selling it in no time.
4. What did you like least?
Same concept, if you received a bunch of feedback from people saying that the laundry room looks like a dungeon with the dark green paint, consider asking the client to paint it brighter. If the feedback is on something more extreme like an aging roof or small backyard, try to capitalize on the better features of the house or ask the client if they would consider fixing some of the problems in exchange for a higher listing price.
5. Have you seen other similar houses? How does this one compare?
You need to know about your competition and while you likely already have a solid understanding based on market analysis and appraisals, it helps to get the clients experience from their level. As agents and brokers, we get swept up by numbers and volume and often miss smaller details that could make a huge difference. Something as simple as a nice front porch light and street numbers could be enough to tip the scale in your direction on homes that are very similar.
6. On a scale of 1 to 10, how clean does this property appear?
When you’re giving an open house, it needs to be spotless. I can’t tell you how many agents I’ve seen have open houses in a house that looks like a tornado went through, that will never work even in a sellers market. People need to be able to imagine themselves in the house and someone elses clutter doesn’t help.
Your job is also to get the seller the highest offer possible and you’d be surprised what a simple cleaning could do. If the client is having a hard time getting the house how you’d like it, consider asking them to hire a cleaning service with the assumption that they’ll receive more offers at higher price points if they do.
7. True or False: This property is priced appropriately?
Asking this as a true or false question with a feedback section is the best way because if you just ask if the house is priced right you may end up with mixed feedback. Asking it this way ensures that you’ll get answers one way or the other. If the majority of the answers say that the house is overpriced, you might have a problem on your hands.
You won’t likely get a ton of people to say that the home is underpriced but more people are willing to say that the property is “fairly priced” rather than over or under.
8. Are you currently in the market to purchase?
Now you want to get down to business, at some point you do need to start pushing these visitors in the right direction. If they like the home, no matter where they are in the process, you need to know what stage they’re at. This should be a multiple choice question with the following answers:
Just looking
Slightly interested
Pre-approved and actively searching
Ideally, you want as many people to be actively searching as possible because these are the clients that are prepared to buy if they like a home.
9. What would it take for you to put in an offer today?
Here is where you can find out what that one thing might be that would prevent someone from putting in an offer. For some it may be the fact that they’re “just looking” and that’s fine, but you don’t want to spend too much time on these folks because they can quickly waste your time.
If someone says that they want to see more houses first or that there is something physically wrong with the house they saw, that means they’re ready to buy and this would be a good opportunity for you to reach out to these individuals.
10. Do you have a real estate agent you’re working with?
Lastly, you want to ask them if they’re already working with someone and who. Even if they’re working with someone, unless they signed an agreement to work with that agent exclusively they can easily switch and work with you. I’m not saying you should be the kind of agent that steals clients but it helps to know who someone is working with in case something changes with the property and you can’t get in contact with the client.
Here are some templates to help you get started: