Open Homes in Christchurch - How to Prepare and What to Expect

Open homes are the primary way Canterbury buyers experience properties in person before making an offer. How your property presents during an open home directly affects buyer impressions, subsequent enquiry, and ultimately your sale result.

Preparing for an Open Home

Every open home should be prepared as if it is the most important inspection of your campaign. Clean and tidy every room. Empty dishwashers and dish racks. Clear bench tops. Make beds. Remove personal items from bathrooms. Put away anything that creates clutter - shoes by the door, coats on chairs, mail on the bench. Open all curtains and blinds to maximise natural light. Ensure all light bulbs are working. In cooler months, heat the home to a comfortable temperature before buyers arrive. Put fresh flowers or plants in the main living area. The home should smell neutral and clean - bake something simple if you want a subtle pleasant scent, but avoid heavy cooking odours or air fresheners that buyers may find off-putting.

What Buyers Are Assessing

Buyers at a Canterbury open home are assessing multiple things simultaneously: the size and flow of rooms; the quality of natural light; the condition of the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry; the storage available; the state of the walls, ceilings, and floors; whether the home feels warm and dry or cold and damp; the garden and outdoor space; parking and access; and the general feeling of whether they could live there. They are also registering issues - cracks in walls, stains on ceilings, squeaky doors, musty smells, dripping taps - that inform whether they want to proceed further. Buyers also check whether the property is consistent with the photographs: if the photos showed a clean, bright home and the open home reveals a darker, smaller, more cluttered reality, trust is immediately damaged.

How Often Should Open Homes Be Held

For a standard Canterbury campaign, one or two open homes per week is typical. The first two weekends of any campaign tend to attract the most buyer traffic as the listing is fresh. Your agent should provide written feedback after each open home showing attendance numbers, the nature of buyer comments, and any specific interests or concerns expressed. This feedback is your most direct insight into how buyers are responding to your property and its price.

What Your Agent Should Be Doing at Open Homes

Your agent should be present at every open home, greeting buyers, registering them, providing information, and engaging in genuine conversation to understand buyer motivations and feedback. They should not be sitting in a corner on their phone. If your agent is attending your open home with another agent from their team rather than personally, confirm this in advance rather than discovering it on the day.

For general information only. Consult your agent for specific preparation advice for your property.