5 Must-Haves for a Successful Open House

Selling your home comes with a variety of tasks and activities to help get things moving and get you to the closing table.

One of the most important parts of selling your home is partnering with your real estate agent to have a successful open house, which will allow prospective buyers to see the property inside and out and envision themselves as owners.

There are plenty of ways to get ready for a successful open house, so let’s take a look at some of the most important prep tasks you can execute to make your home shine.

#1. Clean Up Your Yard

Your front yard is the first impression of your home.

Imagine walking up to your house for the first time ever — even though you as the homeowner are well aware of its glory (and quirks) inside, you want to bring potential buyers through the door first. Investing in improving your home’s curb appeal can go a long way in helping to do this.

Taking time to clean up your yard can help make an enticing first impression that gets buyers in the door — literally. If you get ahead of this task early enough, you can even spruce up your landscaping.

Consider the following tasks to make your front yard shine:

• Mow the lawn and trim the hedges or trees
• Rake up any leaves or grass trimmings and pull weeds
• Put away any toys, tuck away sprinklers, and roll up garden hoses
• Plant flowers or add a tasteful welcome sign
• Sweep your front porch
• Wash your external windows
  

Making a good first impression can set the tone for a successful entry into the home and a successful open house.

#2. Give Your Home a (Deep) Cleaning

We’re sure you knew this was coming, but cleaning your home is an absolute must for a successful open house.

This means cleaning everything from top to bottom. Whether you enlist help or hire a professional cleaning service, ensuring your home is sparkling clean and smelling pleasant can go a long way for the foot traffic that will come through the open house.

Clean the baseboards, dust ceiling fans and blinds, and steam clean your carpets and floors. Taking the extra time to make sure your home is clean as a whistle can go a long way. Clearing the dirt and grime away ensures you showcase the beauty of your home to potential buyers.

#3. Pick Up and Pack Away Certain Things

As you prepare for an open house, make sure to tuck away clutter — it should be out of sight, and out of mind.

You’ll also want to ensure you store your valuables and heirlooms, as well as any documents like mail or other sensitive information, in secure, safe places. Consider removing these items from the home altogether, or simply storing them in a safe.

To continue to enhance cleanliness, you’ll also want to stash your furry family members’ items like beds, litter boxes, and food and water bowls. And speaking of furry friends, make sure to have arrangements for your pets to be out of the home for the open house. You can board Fido, take them to a doggy daycare, or have a trusted friend or family member pet-sit at their place.

#4. Consider Hiring a Professional Stager

Staging a home, or preparing it with professionally-curated furniture and decor, can go a long way in increasing your home’s appeal and make it more enticing to potential buyers. It can also create an enticing experience for a successful open house.

The National Association of REALTORS®’s 2023 Profile of Home Staging found that roughly 60% of buyers’ agents found that home staging made an impact on buyers’ view of the home the majority of the time. This demonstrates that there is plenty of opportunity to leverage staging to boost your home’s selling potential.

You can consider hiring a professional stager, whose job is to use their design and interior decorating expertise to determine the best way to furnish and decorate your home to highlight and enhance its features and floorplan. They are usually also able to provide an inventory of furniture, decor, artwork, and other elements, or simply use what you already have and rearrange its placement.

Some real estate agents offer light staging services or have a staging pro on speed-dial, so check with them to see how they can help.

#5. Depersonalize Your Home

Along the lines of decorating, you also want to take time to depersonalize your home. Why is this important? Depersonalizing your home helps remove any potential bias that home shoppers may have when they walk through your home.

You’ll want to consider changing up the following types of items before the open house:

• Family portraits and photos
• Decor or other pieces with your family name
• Non-neutral posters or artwork
• Themed rooms or decor
  

This isn’t to hide you away, it’s to allow potential buyers to envision the house as their future home. If you’re not sure what this should look like, or what needs to be removed, your real estate agent can help you determine this.

Get Open House Ready

Now that your home is in tip-top shape on the inside and out, you’re ready to hand the keys over to your trusted real estate agent. After the date for the open house is set, you’ll whisk yourself away as your agent opens the doors and potential buyers make their way through their potential dream home.

A successful open house is in reach with the right agent. Get in touch with top trusted real estate agents with help from RealEstateAgents.com.