Why Sellers Should Be Flexible With Their Showing Times

Before a buyer decides to put in an offer on a home, they’ll need to see the property in person first. Visiting homes and checking them out in great detail is an integral part of shopping for real estate. Considering the magnitude of such a purchase, buyers will want to make certain that they’re getting what they pay for, and visiting in person is the way to do that.

But before buyers can visit a home, they’ll have to book a showing first. They can’t just knock on the door at any time of the day or day of the week and expect the sellers to just let them in without question. When it comes to selling real estate, there’s a certain protocol that must be followed, and that includes booking showings in advance and within the timeframes set by the seller.

How Can Restrictive Showing Times Impact Your Home Sale?

Usually, sellers will allow showings seven days a week, as long as they’re not too early in the morning or too late at night. Generally speaking, showings are typically allowed any time between the hours of 10 am to 8 pm, though there are exceptions.

Allowing time frames like these make it easier to accommodate most buyers. While some buyers may only be able to view homes after 5 pm once they’re done work, others might only have a chance to swing by in the morning.

There’s also the issue of the amount of notice required to book a showing. While some sellers may ask for at least two hours’ notice, others may not require any notice at all. Others may even go so far as to require 24 hours’ notice.

The issue here is that many buyers may come upon an online listing and may want to see the property right away. If your home happens to catch their eye and they want to see the property shortly after, turning them down because they didn’t make the call according to your stipulations could result in a missed opportunity.

If showing times are too restrictive, many buyers might find themselves unable to accommodate the allotted times established by the seller. When this happens, not only are many potential buyers out of luck, sellers may be losing out on a potential sale.

The buyer who might have been the one to put in an offer might never even have the opportunity to do so if they don’t get to see the home. At the end of the day, a missed showing is a missed chance to sell your home.

Why Sellers Should Consider Being More Flexible

The idea behind listing a home is to attract as many buyers to look at your home as possible. But while they may have easy access to online images, interested buyers will want to see the home up close.

The more buyers who actually schedule a showing and visit the home, the better the odds of getting an offer sooner rather than later. More buyers visiting the property can also increase the chances of getting multiple offers as a result of lots of buyer traffic.

Of course, having your home open to the public every day can seem like an invasion of privacy. It can feel very uncomfortable having complete strangers waltz in and out of your home at all hours of the day. It might be inconvenient to have a showing booked right in the middle of when you would normally sit down for dinner, for instance.

But just keep in mind that having your home on the market is only a temporary situation. And if you’re more flexible with your showings, you can effectively shorten the amount of time that your home sits on the market.

The Bottom Line

Flexible showings will help to expand the pool of buyers that are able to see your home. By making it easier for buyers to view your home, you may be able to find a willing buyer sooner and cut down on the amount of time that you’ll have to keep your home open to the public.