The real reason agents hold open houses
Open houses are commonly said to sell about 1% of listings. So why does every agent want to hold one on your property? The honest answer is that they work extremely well — just not primarily for you. That does not make them worthless, and here is how to get real value out of one.
The honest answer, first
Do open houses work? Yes — but it depends entirely on who you are asking about.
For the agent, they work very well
An open house is one of the most effective prospecting tools in the business. Somebody knocks on the door, and the odds are strong they are looking to buy a house. If they do not already have an agent, the agent standing in that doorway is about to become theirs.
It also generates listings. Neighbours see an agent actively working in their street, and when they decide to sell, that is the name they remember. A recent listing came to us precisely that way — off the back of a sale in the same neighborhood.
For the seller, the direct odds are poor
The commonly cited figure is that open houses are responsible for selling around 1% of listings.
So if the question is "will the open house sell my house," the answer is probably not, on its own.
That is not an argument against holding one. It is an argument for understanding what you are actually getting, which is the next section.
Two things that genuinely help a seller
1. More eyes, especially neighbours
Serious buyers have alerts set up and will see your listing the day it appears. That is covered.
What an open house adds is everybody else — and a surprising share of sales happen through something close to coincidence. A neighbour notices the nice house on the street is for sale, mentions it to their sister or their mother who has been wanting to move closer, and that becomes a buyer who was never searching your listing.
You cannot target that person with marketing. You can only put a sign out and let them find you.
2. Manufactured competition
This is where open houses earn their keep, and it depends on market conditions.
In a tight market with more buyers than listings, an open house lets buyers see each other. Watching other people walk through and admire the property changes how someone writes their offer.
This worked exactly as intended on a recent flip: two open houses across the first weekend, deliberate neighbour invitations, and multiple offers arriving at full asking price. The full project is in the Henderson flip case study.
In a slower market with plenty of inventory, that effect largely disappears — which is worth knowing before you judge an open house by how it performed. See current conditions.
Signage and promotion decide the turnout
Without proper signage and promotion you will sit in an empty house for four hours wondering where everyone is. This part is not an afterthought.
Sign placement
- Busy intersections, not quiet corners where nobody can see them
- Directions that make sense — a confusing sign is worse than no sign
- Favour right turns. Someone in the far-left lane who sees a sign pointing right across traffic will keep driving. Someone already on the right simply follows the signs in
That right-turn point sounds minor and is not. Your sign has to work for a driver who has roughly two seconds to decide.
Online promotion
Open house times can be published on the MLS and on the major consumer portals, which means buyers searching the area see the event attached to your listing. It is free traffic and it is frequently skipped.
Staging: make it a model home, not your home
Remove the personal things
Family photographs first. This is not because they are not lovely — it is because a buyer needs to picture themselves living there.
Walking into a house full of someone else's family portraits feels like being in someone else's home. Walking into a neutral one feels like walking through a model home, and that is the feeling that sells.
Declutter properly
- Clear surfaces
- No dishes in the sink
- Pet items put away
- Toilet seats down
- Everything in its place
The simplest standard: you paid for professional photographs of this house. Keep it in the condition those photos show. Buyers arriving to find something visibly worse than the listing images notice immediately.
Consider the smell
The old advice was to bake cookies. You still can, but a couple of plug-ins will do the job. The requirement is that the house smells clean and not overpowering — an aggressive scent reads as covering something up.
Put your valuables away
You are inviting strangers into your home, and they will move between rooms without an escort. Before the doors open:
- Cash
- Jewellery
- Prescription medication
- Anything small, valuable or personal
This takes ten minutes and removes the problem entirely. The alternative is discovering something is missing afterwards, with no realistic way to work out when or by whom.
So should you do one?
Probably, provided you go in with the right expectation.
You are unlikely to sell the house at the open house itself. You will get more eyes on the property, you will reach neighbours who know someone looking, and in a competitive market you may generate exactly the buyer-versus-buyer pressure that produces a stronger offer.
Your agent will also meet potential clients. That is not a criticism — it is simply the trade, and it is worth knowing that it is part of the trade.
Good marketing that benefits both of you is fine. What you want to avoid is being told an open house is the strategy for selling your home, because the numbers do not support that.
On what actually moves a listing: how to sell in a buyer's market. And on choosing who represents you: 8 questions to ask before you hire an agent.
Open houses FAQ
Do open houses actually sell houses?
Rarely on their own. A commonly cited industry figure puts open houses as responsible for selling around 1% of listings — meaning roughly 100 people would need to walk through before one made an offer. They are better understood as exposure and competition tools than as a direct route to a sale.
Why do real estate agents want to hold open houses?
Because it is effective prospecting. Someone who knocks on the door at an open house is very likely a buyer, and if they do not already have an agent, the agent hosting is well placed to become one. It also generates future listings from neighbours who see the agent working in their street.
Are open houses still worth doing for a seller?
Yes, for two specific reasons. They put more eyes on the property, particularly neighbours who often know someone wanting to move nearby. And when buyers encounter each other at a viewing, that visible competition can push them to submit stronger offers.
Where should open house signs be placed?
At busy intersections, and favouring right turns. A driver in the far-left lane who sees a sign directing them right across traffic will usually keep going, whereas someone already on the right can simply follow the signs in. Placement in obscure corners or with confusing directions wastes the sign entirely.
How should you stage a home for an open house?
Like a model home. Remove personal photographs so visitors can imagine themselves living there rather than feeling they are in someone else's house. Declutter surfaces, clear the sink, put away pet items, and keep the property in the condition of the professional listing photographs.
What should you put away before an open house?
Anything valuable or personal — cash, jewellery and prescription medication in particular. Strangers will be walking through your home, frequently unaccompanied from room to room, and the risk of something going missing is straightforward to eliminate in advance.
Should you bake cookies before an open house?
Scent does matter, but the old advice is no longer necessary. A couple of plug-in air fresheners will do the job — the important thing is that the house smells clean and not overpowering. An aggressive scent is worse than a neutral one.
Ask what the actual plan is
An open house is one piece of marketing, not a strategy. If you are interviewing agents, the useful question is what else they intend to do — and what they expect each part of it to achieve.
Related: selling in a buyer's market, what is my home worth, what it costs to sell, and questions to ask an agent.
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Jim Fong · NV license BS.0068736 · The Jim Fong Group at Real Broker · 702-997-2050
The 1% figure is a commonly cited industry estimate rather than a verified statistic, and open house effectiveness varies considerably by market conditions, price point and location. General information only.