Many of our Madison area sellers are concerned about proper etiquette when they open their door for showings. Our sellers want to be respectful of the buyers who are visiting their home, and they wonder if they should allow each buyer the opportunity to view their home privately, without any other buyers in the house. We get this question a lot, especially during the hot spring market, when buyers are out in droves.
Should you allow for double-booked showings?
Our short answer to this question is "yes", you should allow for overlapping showings, and for two main reasons. The first reason is you'll expose your home to more buyers when you allow each buyer to tour your home at their requested time. Although it would be nice to grant each buyer a private showing, taking this approach would restrict the number of buyers who are able to tour your home, especially in a hot market. As much as possible you should accommodate each buyer's requested time, even if it coincides with another buyer's visit to your home.
Allowing for overlapping showings is good strategy, too. A crowded house makes it clear to buyers that there is plenty of competition for your listing. And this sense of competition can motivate some buyers to write an extremely strong offer.
A recent example from one of our listings
We recently listed a Madison home for sale in a hot price point and neighborhood. When we opened the doors for showings, there were as many as 5 different buyers in the house at the same time. This listing ended up being fiercely competitive, with over 20 different offers being submitted, and most of them for well over the list. Our sellers ended up accepting an amazing offer, with many other back-up buyers in the fold.
Are you planning to sell your Madison area home, condo, or investment property? Check out our home seller's blog for all of our latest case studies and tips.
