What Goes Into a Strong Open House Plan in New Jersey?
Published | Posted by Dennis Mark Interdonato
- Home Marketing
- Open House
- Home Selling
- Selling Tips
A strong open house plan starts days before the doors open: it brings the right buyers through the home in one concentrated weekend, then gives the ones who missed it a second chance the same week. That takes signs, ads, emails, mail to the surrounding streets, live video and more than one time slot, all pointed at the same event.
I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato with The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living. On my listings, when the home and the market call for it, I run what I call a Mega Open House. Not every listing gets every piece below, because the plan is built for the home. Here's what it can include and why each piece is there.
What is a Mega Open House?
It's an open house treated like a launch event instead of a few hours with the front door propped open. The pieces work together:
- A neighborhood VIP hour the first Saturday, before the public open house.
- Mailed invitations to the surrounding streets through USPS Every Door Direct Mail.
- Directional signs on the turns into the neighborhood, where the town allows them.
- Digital ads announcing the date and time.
- Newsletter and office e-blasts to my list, the agents in my office and other local agents.
- Live video on Facebook and TikTok from inside the home during the event.
- A twilight open house in the early evening, for buyers who can't make a weekend afternoon.
Each one reaches a different group of people. Together they put the most buyers in front of the home while it's new, which is the stretch that matters most. I explain why in why the first two weeks on the market set your home's price.
Why hold a neighborhood VIP hour?
Neighbors are curious about the house down the street, and curious neighbors talk. Giving the surrounding streets their own hour on the first Saturday does two things. The people who'd stop by out of curiosity get a relaxed look before the public arrives, so serious buyers later in the day have room to walk through. And a home that neighbors have seen in person gets talked about well past the weekend.
The invitation goes to every address on the mailing routes, and the public open house that follows is open to anyone. Nobody is picked or left out.
How does Every Door Direct Mail work?
Every Door Direct Mail, or EDDM, is a USPS service that delivers a mailer to every address on the carrier routes you choose. According to USPS, the pieces are addressed to "Postal Customer," so no names or mailing list are needed, and the routes are picked on a map in the EDDM online tool. A retail EDDM mailing has to be at least 200 pieces, and USPS allows up to 5,000 pieces per day per ZIP Code.
For an open house, that means the VIP invitation lands in every mailbox on the routes around the home a few days before the event, so the whole area hears about it at the same time.
How do buyers find out about the open house?
A full open house is built in the days before it. Here's how each channel does its part:
- Digital ads. Ads on Facebook and Instagram announce the date and time to people in the areas buyers are most likely coming from. Housing ads run under Meta's special ad category for housing, which doesn't allow targeting by ZIP code, age or gender and sets a minimum radius of 15 miles around any city, address or dropped pin. The reach stays wide, and an open house wants that anyway.
- Social posts. Open House and Twilight flyers go out on social media in the days before, along with a Facebook Marketplace event for the listing.
- Newsletter and office e-blasts. My newsletter reaches my sphere, industry contacts and referral partners. Office e-blasts reach agents who are working with buyers right now and may want to bring them by.
- Directional signs. Signs on the turns into the neighborhood bring in drive-by traffic and guide visitors to the door. Every town sets its own sign rules, so we follow them.
Why go live on Facebook and TikTok?
Not every buyer can get there on Saturday. Some are moving from another part of the state, some are working, and some want a feel for the home before they give it an afternoon. A live walkthrough during the open house shows the home as it is, in real time, and viewers can ask questions in the comments while we're standing in the room they're asking about.
What is a twilight open house?
It's an open house held in the early evening, with every light in the home on. It reaches buyers whose weekend afternoons are already booked or whose workdays run late, and it shows the home the way it feels when you pull into the driveway at night: lamps on, exterior lights on, the kitchen glowing through the front window.
A twilight open house also gives buyers who saw the listing over the weekend a second chance the same week, while it's still new.
How should you prepare your home for an open house?
Treat it like the most important showing of the listing, because it often is. Start with decluttering, then cover the security basics. The National Association of REALTORS® recommends that sellers:
- Lock up jewelry, important and sensitive documents, firearms and prescription medications. A small lockbox or safe is worth having with visitors coming and going.
- Put away anything that reveals personal details, such as family photos, mail, calendars, computer logins and Wi-Fi passwords.
NAR's open house safety tips also include having visitors sign in and walking the home before and after the event to make sure no one is still inside. A few more steps that help on the day:
- Put laptops, tablets, spare keys and car fobs out of sight.
- Plan for pets to be out of the house for the event.
- Turn on every light, open the blinds and set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature before the first visitor.
- Be out of the house. Buyers stay longer and talk more freely when the owner isn't there.
- Check every door and window once the last visitor leaves.
Do open houses still sell homes?
In my experience, a well-planned open house still does what it's meant to do: it concentrates the first wave of interest into one weekend, so buyers see each other in the driveway and know they aren't the only ones looking. For the buyer's side of the question, read are open houses making a comeback.
An open house is one piece of a full marketing plan, built around the price, the photos and the launch date. To see how the whole plan comes together, read about how I market a home, start with a number from the home valuation tool, or see how selling with The Dennis Mark Group works.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should the first open house be?
Usually the first weekend the home is on the market, because that's when the most active buyers see it for the first time. A twilight open house the same week gives everyone who missed it a second chance.
Who gets invited to a neighborhood VIP hour?
Every address on the mailing routes around the home gets the same invitation through Every Door Direct Mail, and the public open house that follows is open to anyone.
How do I protect my belongings during an open house?
Lock up jewelry, documents, firearms and prescription medications, and put away anything with personal information, as NAR recommends.
Does every listing get a Mega Open House?
No. The marketing plan is built for each home and each market, and the open house plan is part of it. Some homes get the full event; others get the pieces that fit.
About the author
Dennis Mark Interdonato is a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® who leads The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living in Point Pleasant, NJ, helping buyers and sellers throughout New Jersey make their next move, with Monmouth and Ocean County as home base. Read more about Dennis Mark.
