WE LOVE A SHOW HOUSE

Show houses work. Always have, always will - it is a tried and tested strategy that we love because it delivers results...

A Show House might not be top of your favourites list when it comes to selling your home, but we'd like you to think about it carefully.

Show Houses work. It is that simple.

It's the best way to showcase your home and get it sold quicker...which is both your goal and ours.

A Show House is appealing to buyers. Your house is always on its best behaviour when you have a show house - you obviously want it to look its finest - and it's a two to two-and-a-half-hour window for buyers who are specifically looking in your area and at your kind of home, to consider it during their leisure time on the weekend, look around the property, and ask all the questions they like of the property practitioner. Realistically, there is less pressure on the prospective buyer because, you, the seller, are usually not there, which makes it easier to ask straightforward questions of the property practitioner, and to look beyond the home's surface.

A Show House allows more people to come through your home in a shorter time period. Being on a weekend, too, a prospective buyer is often able to bring their extended family for a second opinion or to assess the property for specific needs they may have - add on a granny cottage, or open plan the kitchen - or even a relative who may be assisting with costs.

Allowing prospective buyers through at a specific time can often save a homeowner awkward viewing times during the week - it's far easier to spruce up your home for a Show House at a specific time, knowing that one person - it only takes one - may well visit your property. Your neighbours and friends, too, will pass on news of your Show House, and that could widen the market with more visits.

Your property could be one of a list of properties that a prospective buyer has earmarked to view. Being able to see those properties together, allows a buyer to do an apples-to-apples comparison, and make a faster decision about the one for them. That decision could be in your favour.

For somebody who falls in love with your property at a Show House, there's the knowledge that many others will be seeing it in the same window period. If there are multiple interested parties, this could mean a better chance of a quick sale, as a buyer who fears missing out on their dream home could sign on the dotted line at the Show House. On the flipside, those for whom your property isn't suitable, have found that out at the Show House, and you won't have them coming through your home during the week.

Show Houses work on so many levels. "At Wakefields, our property practitioners are well versed in our protocols around a Show House," says Wakefields Estate Agents, CEO, Myles Wakefield. "Naturally, sellers have some concerns when buying a new home, but our property practitioners are highly sensitised to general buyer concerns and how to deal with them. You can rest easy, there."

It's still your choice as to whether or not you want to do Show House. But we, at Wakefields, have found that of the many multi-pronged approaches to marketing over the past few decades, one has stood the test of time. That's a Show House.