Are Residential Property Show houses now on the way out?

Are Residential Property Show houses now on the way out? Very definitely not, says Alexander Swart Director.

Don't be taken in by those down-playing the effectiveness of this estate agency tactic.

With an almost predictable frequency, someone involved with the marketing of residential property will put out a statement that show houses are not only highly disruptive to family life but are also ineffective and unnecessary as a means of selling the property. They are likely to back up their arguments with the assertion that modern IT technology can and will do most of the selling needed prior to a first visit to the home. However, says Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart Property, the Cape Town estate agency, this is simply not true.

"All the evidence points to a very different conclusion," said Alexander. "In our company we KNOW that show houses are the best way of bringing about a sale. One of our agents, Stefan Engelke, has recently sold two homes in three weekends as a direct result of their being put up for show days. In both cases the offer to buy was signed and witnessed at the show house and in both cases the buyers had not previously been to the home. What is more, the third home put up for showing will in all likelihood soon find a buyer from among those who visited it.

The great advantages of putting a home up for show, said Alexander, are that the buyer is under no time constraints and are usually in a relaxed, "weekend" frame of mind. He can, if he so wishes, spend well over an hour "savouring" the home, going through the rooms more than once or sitting in the garden and just picking up a feeling of how life here has been lived. He may also form an impression of how many other people are interested in the home and this could spur him into action.

On the other hand, if he visits the home after working hours on a weekday, the family is likely to be there and engaged in such activities as cooking or doing homework. He will probably feel like an unwelcome intruder and try to cut short the time he spends there. Furthermore such visits will give the visitor no idea of how the neighbourhood functions, what its residents do for recreation and how they interact; but these can be the deciding factors in a purchaser's choice.

"One has to accept that show house days are part of a South African tradition and are actually enjoyed by many people who may devote several Sunday afternoons to such visits. Those sellers who refuse to go along with this practice have only themselves to blame if and when they do not get satisfactory offers."

A good estate agent, said Alexander, will spend as much time as necessary advising the seller on how to present his home on show days.

"This is a subject on which articles are regularly published and they all tend to say much the same:  spend time and money on putting the home in a tip-top condition. Get the carpets and curtains cleaned; repaint walls which are losing their as-new look and repair all damaged fittings such as cupboards, tiling and lights; eliminate those pervasive  cooking and pet smells to which you have possibly grown so accustomed that you are not even aware of them; pack away children's toys; declutter the home as much as possible; get the pool (if there is one) in sparkling condition and ensure that the garden has enough new flowering plants to give a real spread of colour. If the weather is fine allow as much fresh air and sunlight into the home as possible. If you are experiencing a typical Cape winter, get a fire going in the hearth and heat up all rooms to a comfortable temperature so that the whole home has a warm, friendly ambience. Also pay attention to the home's street frontage. Many a good buyer has on account of a poor street frontage driven on and gone to look at the next home on his list."

Alexander said that among those who propagate the message that show houses are "antiquated" as a means of selling a home; there are some who are trying to induce sellers to opt for a technology-only strategy as well as certain agents who dislike spending their weekends working. However, he said, the facts as presented by Alexander Swart and others have time and again shown that the arguments in favour of abandoning show houses are totally flawed.

For further information, contact Rowan Alexander on 082 381 0687 or by email: rowan@asproperty.co.za