35 Homes, Eight Real Estate Offices Join Forces for Community-Wide Open House
QUINCY, Ill. Eight competing real estate offices are putting competition aside Thursday for a first-of-its-kind collaborative event designed to make house hunting a little easier for Quincy-area buyers.
The Community-Wide Open House will run from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, and feature 35 homes available to tour across the area. Most are located in Quincy, with additional properties in Ursa and Payson.
Participating offices include Happel Realtors; Mays LLC, Realtors; Gem City Real Estate Group; Bower & Associates Inc.; Bockenfeld & Associates; KW Hometown; Davis & Associates Realtors; and Zanger & Associates, Inc.
Misty Dowling of Gem City Real Estate Group was the driving force behind organizing the multi-office event, bringing together agents and brokerages that ordinarily compete for the same buyers and listings.
“I’m excited to have brought together eight local real estate offices for our first multi-office Open House event, featuring 35 homes,” Dowling told Quincy Current.
Dowling said the idea was developed in part to make viewing homes easier for prospective buyers whose work schedules can make traditional showing times difficult.
“The goal behind organizing this event was simple: Make the home-buying process more convenient and accessible for buyers, especially those with demanding work schedules who may not have the opportunity to tour homes during traditional showing hours,” she said.
The collaboration also reflects a broader effort among local real estate professionals to increase exposure for their sellers and give buyers an opportunity to see a large number of properties during a single two-hour period.
Joe Mays of Mays LLC, Realtors, told Quincy Current that agents are already seeing strong traffic at individual open houses, but organizers believe working together could generate even more interest.
“A fellow managing broker came up with the idea to collaborate an open house date with all area offices,” Mays said. “We are seeing high open house traffic with prospective buyers. However, just like the power of the MLS and numbers, we thought working together was a good way to drive foot traffic even further for the betterment of our clients.”
Jackie Weisenburger of Happel Realtors said the event demonstrates that competition and cooperation can coexist within the local real estate industry.
“I think it’s wonderful to see so many real estate offices coming together for one common goal, supporting our community and showcasing what Quincy has to offer,” Weisenburger told Quincy Current. “We may compete for business, but at the end of the day, cooperation and teamwork are what make our industry strong.”
Weisenburger said the event also provides residents with an opportunity to meet local real estate professionals and learn more about the buying process.
“Events like this give the public an opportunity to explore homes, meet local REALTORS, and see firsthand how we can all work together,” she said. “When we support each other and our community, everybody wins.”
Dowling said organizers are already looking beyond Thursday’s event.
“This is just the beginning,” she said. “We plan to continue coordinating multi-office Open House events in the coming weeks, giving buyers more opportunities to explore available homes while bringing our local real estate community together.”
She said the common goal among the participating offices is helping buyers find homes, regardless of which brokerage represents a particular property.
“Because at the end of the day, we may work for different brokerages, but we share a common goal: helping buyers find a place to call home,” Dowling said.
Organizers are also working to expand the events beyond simply opening doors to available houses.
At select properties, buyers may have opportunities to speak with local lenders and learn about financing options, seller incentives that could reduce upfront costs or monthly payments, strategies for making homeownership more affordable and available homebuyer assistance programs.
Dowling said some qualified buyers could potentially be eligible for grant opportunities of up to $15,000, depending on the program and individual eligibility requirements.
The additional resources are intended to help potential buyers better understand not only which homes are available, but also what financial tools may be available to help them purchase one.
“I’m grateful to the local real estate offices and professionals who have come together to make this possible,” Dowling said. “When we work together, we can accomplish so much more for our buyers, sellers, and community.”
The Community-Wide Open House runs from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday. A complete list of the 35 participating properties will be available at the open houses.
Each property is represented by its respective listing brokerage, which will be identified on the real estate sign at the property.
