An open house is a scheduled time for potential buyers to view a home. Over two-thirds of sellers host open houses. Open houses are open to the public. Broker tours or broker’s open house are only open to agents.
Agents and the sellers they represent host open houses to drive more traffic to the listing. This allows homeowners to assess interest in the home, identify buyers, and capture feedback.
Agents representing the seller often post open house times on the MLS. They tend to post open houses times on popular consumer portals like Zillow. Agents also market open houses within their network and on ad platforms.
Whether open houses are effective for sellers is a large point of contention in real estate. Most agents agree that private scheduled showings or tours are important. But open houses can be expensive and time consuming to support. And many of the visitors may not have a high intent to buy. It’s hard to capture accurate data on how often an open house leads to a sale. Many owners simply continue to support open houses to be safe. However, some studies have shown that homes with open houses sell faster and for more money.
Open houses are likely effective lead generation tools for agents. Even if the home the agent represents does not draw a buyer, the agent collects new leads from buyers who are not represented by agents.
Open house software helps agents manage open house buyer registration and follow-ups. These applications capture prospective buyer information from sign-in sheets. The software then automates follow-ups and marketing aimed at these leads.
Open Home Pro (owned by HomeFinder) and Spacio (owned by HomeSpotter) are two open house software providers. Many agents also use traditional form software like Google Forms.