Da Bears and Real Estate in Chicagoland

I don't know if anyone (especially real estate agents) has ever conducted a quasi-scientific survey on this topic, but maybe it's time to do so.

Every fall, every football season, Sunday open houses are gauged on how "groups" of home shoppers attend, despite the airing of a Chicago Bears football game.

Does it really matter to home shoppers that the Bears are playing yet another bone-crunching game somewhere? Many agents think so, and the more weight that is attached to a particular game, the more the impact on Sunday open houses. Taking it to the extreme, I know of agents who simply refuse to even bother having a Sunday open house if there is a Bears game sharing the afternoon time frame.

Today for example, I was doing an open house in Northbrook. Three hours, two groups of shoppers, and zero potential buyers for that property. Even the streets seem less congested on Sunday afternoons when the Bears are playing, be it the streets in the city or the suburbs.

Should Sunday open houses continue, despite Bears football game happenings? Sure. The open house accomplishes the meeting of agents and the public. Game or no game, the interaction of agents and the public will continue, even if it means missing a touchdown pass or two. (FYI, the Bears won BIG today, outscoring Detroit 48 to 24, and I didn't see one play of the game. Guess they don't need me!)