You want to put your house on the market, but can't stand the idea of a drip, drip, drip of viewings over the next three months, or however long it now takes to sell a house. The threat that you might suddenly be called on to vacuum the stairs with 20 minutes' notice, tidy away the children's toys or start baking to create that all-important welcoming aroma can all be a bit much. The alternative is to hold an open day.
The idea of throwing open the front door to all-comers was a difficult one to sell to a reserved British public when the tactic was introduced in the late 1990s, but open-house days are now increasingly common. It's easy to see why: owners don't have to live with the pressure of a daily clean, and the possibility of immediate competition as buyers size up their rivals might help to push up the price. Indeed, there is something of an orgy of open houses right now - thanks to Countrywide estate agency, which has more than 10,000 events happening across the country this weekend. It claims this is the largest number ever. So why the sudden rush?
"The uncertainty of 2008 left many buyers - mostly families - sitting on their hands," says Robert Scarff, the company's managing director. "Now that prices have stabilised and there is greater mortgage availability, we have seen a significant increase in interest. We are creating an opportunity to bring together committed buyers and sellers to agree a sale before Christmas."
A quick sale is exactly what the owners of a five-bedroom, £1.95m house in Putney, southwest London, were hoping for when I popped along for an hour - yes, there is always a short window, to create a sense of urgency - last Saturday morning. I turned up well within the specified 60 minutes, at 340 Upper Richmond Road, to find its 3,500 sq ft rather empty and two agents sitting twiddling their thumbs. The house, predictably, was immaculate, with flowers in every room. I sat on the sofa and nearly disappeared into a score of ferociously plumped-up cushions.
"We have already had an open-house event here, three weeks ago," admits Fehd Alsaidi, a senior sales negotiator in the Putney office of Chesterton Humberts. "We got 10 families looking around, and multiple offers. We achieved the asking price, but the buyer pulled out." They are hoping the strategy will work a second time round. Risky.
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You see, the prerequisite of success for an open house is that the property must, must, be new to the market. That's how you get a buzz; that's how you get people to turn up at a specific hour; that's how you create multiple bids. So, when Sullivan Thomas, a Fulham estate agency, opened the doors to a four-bedroom house last month, the £950,000 property had eight people in and three offers within a day of being on the market. "We didn't even have time to write the details for the house - we just called up everyone we knew would be interested and asked them to come round the next day," says Alex Richards, the selling agent. It sold within five days for £942,000.
You may have blown it, I suggest to Alsaidi. He looks a bit crestfallen, but then the doorbell rings and in comes a potential buyer, plus children, plus her mother. They wander into the spotless kitchen, with its shiny, navy-blue Aga. It seems Putney people think they live in the country. This despite the fact that the house is not only positioned on a main bus lane, but has the District line at the bottom of its 80ft garden and the Heathrow flight path above.
I wander off again to peruse the perfect, albeit Wag-ified, decor, with giant gilt mirrors, walk-in showers for nearly every bedroom and carefully arranged copies of Condé Nast Traveller.
"Psychologically, it's great - seeing another potential buyer creates a sense of urgency," Alsaidi says. "You can't do that with just a single viewing." So, what clever tricks are there for those who want to guarantee their open house isn't a flop? Inviting along fictitious wannabes is one way. "Oh, we do that all the time." What? "Oh, yes. We always invite open-house junkies, people who have no intention of buying, but like nosing around houses."
As if on cue, in troop a pair of elderly locals, with backpacks and walking boots. "Don't want to buy the house," one says. "We're local historians - came over to have a closer look." That is what is good from the buyer's point of view. If enough people turn up, you can shake off the attentive estate agent and get up close and personal, making it easier to spot any leaks or cracks you'd otherwise be hurried past. In a market where lack of stock is the biggest problem for anyone wanting to move, open-house events often allow buyers the chance to preview properties before they are marketed on estate agents' websites, and this speeds up the whole purchasing process.
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As I leave, another family and a distinguished-looking man in a trilby turn up at the same time. Alsaidi brightens up no end. I call up a week later. The house has not sold yet, but a couple of second viewings have been arranged. Not bad for the pre-Christmas period.
For more details on the Countrywide Open House weekend, visit countrywide.co.uk