Open Homes Explained

Buyers talk more freely, open more doors and stay longer when the owner isn't standing in the kitchen. Take the family, take the dog, go and get a coffee.

Gather up the bits and pieces that usually live on the benches and shelves, like the mail, the kids' toys and the odds and ends, and pop them in a nice basket or box tucked away in a cupboard or the garage. Small valuables like jewellery, cash and spare keys are easiest to take with you for the day. The place looks calmer, buyers aren't invited to have a closer look at how you live, and the home looks like it has plenty of storage (home stagers suggest the same thing). If you're not sure how your home insurance treats open homes, a quick chat with your insurer is an easy bit of peace of mind.

Open the blinds, switch the lights on and crack a few windows. A bright house feels bigger.

Your dog might be the best part of the house, but not everyone's a dog person. Some buyers will skip a room rather than walk past a dog on the way in. Best to take the pets with you for the day. Then park the cars off the driveway, so visitors have somewhere to pull up and a clear view of the front of the house.

A quick heads up about extra cars and people goes a long way, especially if street parking is tight.

Standing around "just in case" makes buyers feel watched, and watched people stop saying what they think. Let the agent run the show.

Explaining why the bathroom is the way it is, or defending the price, is the agent's job. Your agent has had that conversation before and is better placed to have it.

Someone will dislike the paint colour you spent a month choosing. That's information, not an insult. When the feedback comes back, look for the things several people said, not the one-off opinion.

If there's an issue with the house, tell your agent early so it can be handled properly. Surprises tend to turn up later in a building and pest report, and they cost more time then than they do now.

The first time through, let yourself like it. The second time, look at the practical stuff, like storage, light and how the rooms flow. The detailed checking comes later with a building and pest inspection, so an open home is mostly about how the place feels to live in.

Road noise, how much light the living area gets, what the neighbour's yard is like, and whether your car fits in the driveway. Stand still in the main rooms for a minute. Houses have a feel and a smell, and photos don't carry either.

Because it is one. Peeking in wardrobes and cupboards is normal, but rummaging through drawers and personal things isn't. If you're asked to take your shoes off or stay out of a room, just go with it.

A packed open home doesn't mean it's about to sell, and a quiet one doesn't mean something's wrong. It's half an hour on one day. Weather, other open homes on at the same time and how long the place has been advertised all change the numbers.

What's included in the sale? How long has it been on the market? Queensland agents can't make false or misleading statements about a property (the REIQ explains how that works), so a clear question should get a clear answer.

If a home is advertised as "offers over", that figure has to be the minimum the owner will accept. The Queensland Government has the details on property advertising. If there haven't been many similar homes sold nearby lately (these are called comparable sales), the agent and the owner may genuinely not know what the place could fetch. In that case a ballpark figure is the best anyone can give you while they see how much interest comes in. Auctions work differently, and we cover that in Selling Methods Explained.

The agent usually follows up with everyone who left a name and number and passes the feedback to the owner. If someone's keen, the conversation turns to offers.

Mostly paperwork and checks: the contract, a solicitor or conveyancer to look it over, your finance, and usually a building and pest inspection. An offer isn't a binding deal until a contract is signed. If terms like "under contract" and "unconditional" are fuzzy, we've broken them down in Selling Methods Explained.

Often about half an hour. The listing shows the exact time, and you can turn up anywhere in that window. If you'd like longer, ask the agent about a private inspection.

So the agent can follow up with you, keep track of who's been through the house, and give the owner an honest idea of how much interest there is.

Most owners are better off out. Buyers tend to be more relaxed, look in more rooms and stay longer when the owner isn't there. If you can't be out for the whole time, talk to your agent about how to handle it.

Yes, it's one of the most common questions at an open home. In Queensland, an "offers over" figure has to be the minimum the owner will take. If there aren't many similar homes sold nearby (comparable sales), the agent and owner may genuinely not know what it could fetch, so a ballpark figure is the best option while they see how much interest comes in. Properties going to auction follow different rules, which we cover in Selling Methods Explained.

Very. Second inspections are common, often with a partner, a family member or a builder. They're a good chance to check the things you didn't think of the first time round.

One open home is a snapshot, not a verdict. Weather, other open homes at the same time and how long the place has been advertised all affect the numbers. A good agent will look at it alongside online interest, enquiries and feedback, then talk to you about what, if anything, to adjust.

You can. It's your home, so how people view it is your call, made with your agent. Open homes bring more people through at once, so it's worth talking through what private inspections only would mean for how many buyers get to see it.