Are Open Houses….Dead?

I saw a video recently where an agent said open houses don’t work. I’ve heard that from agents for years. Every time, I ask the same question. Is it really the open house that isn’t working, or is it the way you’re running it?

The market has changed, and open houses are proving it

The agent in that video argued that serious buyers schedule a private tour instead. That might be true in her market, mostly luxury listings. It hasn’t been true in ours. Since the buyer broker service agreement became mandatory here in Southwest Washington, I’ve actually seen an increase in traffic at our team’s open houses. A lot of buyers don’t want to sign an agreement with someone just to walk through a house.

I had a client who ended up buying a home here before she moved to Hawaii. Before we met, she’d gone to see a home with another agent who told her she had to sign a buyer broker agreement first. She bought that agent’s listing anyway, so she didn’t think twice about signing it at the time, but she told me later that she felt roped into a bad situation and didn’t enjoy the experience. Buyers remember that. A growing number of them are choosing open houses instead, precisely because nobody’s asking them to sign anything at the door.

I know open houses work because I’ve sold houses through them

The very first house I ever sold was an open house. A few months later, one of my first listings sold the same way. It had already been on the market for six months with another agent and had expired. I relisted it in November, right as the calendar started working in my favor, hosted an open house, and a buyer walked in while other people were touring the same house at the same time. That sense of urgency mattered. She wrote an offer that day.

None of that means open houses fix everything. They will not sell an overpriced listing. If the price is wrong, more traffic through the door isn’t going to change that. But priced right, an open house is one of the most reliable ways to sell a home and generate new clients for yourself at the same time. It’s a genuine win for the seller and a genuine win for the agent.

The part most agents skip: what happens before Saturday

Here’s my honest read on agents who say open houses don’t work. Most of them don’t want to be responsible for running one, so it’s easier to decide in advance that it won’t pay off. I understand the instinct. But an open house doesn’t generate business on its own. The work that makes it successful happens in the days before it, not during it. There are three things we do before every open house on our team.

First, we go through our database. We have more than 22,000 people in it, and we match that list against anyone who’s looked at a property similar in price, area, and style to the one we’re hosting. We call them, email them, and personally invite them to come through.

Second, we call the surrounding neighborhood. We let people know about the listing and the open house, and we ask if they know anyone looking to get into that specific area. Neighbors often do.

Third, we door knock the fifty closest homes. We let them know we’re hosting an open house that weekend, in case they know someone thinking about a move. Every one of these steps benefits the seller too. You’re not just filling a weekend open house with foot traffic. You’re actively expanding who sees the home.

What this comes down to

Open houses aren’t broken. Most agents just aren’t doing the work that makes them effective, and it’s easier to blame the format than to build the system. I believe in open houses because I’ve watched them work, for my own listings and for the agents on our team. If you want the exact step by step system we use to prepare for an open house, run it, and follow up afterward to turn attendees into buyer consultations, reach out and I’ll send it your way. It’s the same system every agent on our team uses to convert business at their opens.