I disagree - I find most of my buyers by making appointments (not getting leads) at open houses.  You need to go and be ready to close.

I recently had a buyer walk into an open house and say "write it up". The deal did fall through over disclosures, but don't be so fast to discount the value of open houses.

I'd LOVE to stay in my jammies with my coffee.  Unfortunately (?) open houses work pretty well in this area.

Last fall, Eric sold a house he was holding open.  The buyers were in the neighborhood to see a friend who wasn't home.  Their house had sold and their realtor had been doing searches for them.  For whatever reason our listing hadn't come up.  They loved it.  They bought it.

It gives you a great time to do paperwork!

This is why I decided to stop doing real estate and start doing property management... No more open houses. They are really boring when they don't have wireless so you can actually do work.

Some like open houses and some dont, I think alot of it is location. the way you hold an open is also very important.

Sometimes we do open houses just to make the seller happy.... and it really does occasionally produce a real buyer.

I think it has a lot to do with how you interact with people you don't know. I'm a very open person and am not shy about striking up a conversation at all! So, I love open houses, in the last year I've had 5 closed buyers and one new listing because of open house. Two of those closes were buyers that bought the house I was holding open. I think if you can talk to people and make them feel comfortable then I still think open houses are great.

I think the biggest problem people have is building trust and that is something you don't have to do with a referral, it has already been done for you.

I like to chat as well. I'm hosting an Open House on Sunday. It's an interesting way to meet folks and interact with buyers, whatever their motivation.

Mary-6% of buyers still find their agents at open houses so yes, agents are still doing them.  My point was that since MORE people are finding their agents ONLINE and that number is increasing every year...blogging and creating an online presence seems to be a better use of time.  I think in 5-10 years from now that open houses will be much more rare.  It is not how Gen X and Gen Y shop, but yes the Boomers shop this way.

Vickie-yes open houses do occasionally bring in a real buyer.  That is why I emphasized the OVERALL statistics.  Me, I'm interested in being effective.

Karen-I'm glad they work for you. 

Jason-I agree it's a great time to do paperwork and write blogs.  I'm not sure the seller leaving for 3 hours so I can do paperwork at their house makes a lot of sense.  Getting ready for an open house is stressful for sellers.

Bart-I agree that location is a huge factor in the effectiveness of open houses. 

Erica-I hear a lot of this sentiment.  We do it to make the seller happy. If I were a seller and I scrubbed and cleaned my house for two people to walk though my house AND I had to leave for 3 hours, I'm not sure I would be too happy.

Todd-I used to work as a therapist so I have no trouble talking to people.  I actually have the opposite problem. I've been trained to be such a good listener that sometimes I just want people to stop talking to me....

Andrew-If open houses here generated a lot of traffic regularly, I would still do them. I've only done  them when they were in great locations, since I knew I would get the traffic.  You gotta have people show up in order to chat...

MELINA - I find that the biggest issue is the homeowner expectation.  It has gotten to the point where homeowners should be informed about what is likely to occur as a result of the open house, and also to educate them about why they are common.  If homeowners realized that they may not get many (if any) people coming through, and that the biggest benefit is for the agent to get buyers, they may think twice about having to leave their home for the day.

Adam-I agree.  One of the reasons I have done so few open houses in the past few years, is that when I go over all of the stats with my sellers, THEY decide they don't want to waste a Sunday on it.  I tell people that I have less than a 1% chance of selling their home at an open house, but a 6% chance of getting myself a new client.   Somehow that doesn't sound as appealing to people.

Thanks for a great post about open houses.  Being somewhat new to the business, I will only offer my observations that are purely from my own area - - we seem to have OH here strictly for the other brokers.  Occasionally I see customers, but not often, even on Sundays.  And you better have a good lunch served at your OH or the brokers go elsewhere! 

So if in Utah in 2007, 6% of the buyers found agent from an open house and there were 29,458 buyers, then 1,767 buyers went to open houses.  Works for me, where do I sign up.

Susie-broker's opens occur here also, but don't get the draw of some other areas. 

Gerald-so in Mid-Willamette Valley Oregon in 2007 there were 7,219 buyers, so 6% would be 433, and don't forget about that pesky # of real estate agents statistic, so that means of the 2,191 agents here in the WVMLS we all got .20 of a buyer.  Me...I'll stay in my jammies for 1/5 of a buyer.  How many agents are competing for those 1,767?

Don't forget that 91%of Gen X used the internet for home searching.  86% of Gen Y, and 71% of those aged 44-65. 

The Sun City Grand (age restricted community) CCR's permits open houses only on Saturday and Sunday from 9 to 4.  As such, many of the prospective buyers are just driving about looking at various floor plans.  Some have agents, most don't.  Remember that there are two potential sales connected to almost every buyer - a sale and a listing.

I frequently get asked about open house lists or schedules in different communities.  I've checked the MLS open house schedule and found maybe 10 homes listed of over 75,000 homes.  What's up with that? 

Open house effective?  YES!  There are days that no one shows up, and there are days that I cannot handle the flow.  I am out of my jammies and out there to pick up those buyers.

I think the profession has "sold" the seller on the fact that open houses work and that is the way they get exposure.  We have fallen short on educating the consumer imho.

Interesting statistics!  Still I think it's tied to the strengths of the realtor.  As a manager, I see realtors who are very effective at converting buyers at open houses and some who simply are not.   While others are very good with the written word and manipulating data - They may be more effective blogging - 

We always say all real estate is local - When it comes to the effectiveness of open houses, I'd guess that may vary from locale to locale - 

Whatever works!!

I'm always hoping that one of the neighbors that pops in is actually interviewing me to list their house.

Leolinda-I assume you are talking about a 55+ community?  I think those are a different ballgame because only 51% of those aged 65 or older use the internet.  I would conceede that for 55+ communities that open houses would be a very appropriate and probably necesssary part of a marketing plan. 

Joan-I think the issue is that the seller is paying a lot of money for services. They want to know you are doing EVERYTHING to get that house sold.  I just prefer to spend my time setting up a custom website for my clients.

Marcia-I just think there will be fewer and fewer buyers to convert at open houses over the next 5 years.  Most will be shopping online and saving their gas money.

Lisa-5% of sellers found their agent by doing just that.

I hear what you are saying and I would prefer coffee and my comfy chair to the open house too, however, I do believe that the open house continues to give exposure to the property and not utilizing the exposure may be harmful to the sale in the long run.  It only takes one buyer and that one buyer may be the one who walks through that open house door.  As long as the people still come, I will continue to hold open houses.

I just listed 2 homes tonight and the first thing out of the sellers mouths was:  When do we have an open house?  I said, Do you think that is a productive use of my time to market your home, because I dont.  I replied, I can spend 2 hours saying Hello to all your neighbors OR I can spend the same 2 hrs getting your listing exposed on my 20 websites that I advertise your listing on.  You choose.

I think until we change our thinking sellers will not change either.  Thanks for sharing the stats. That always helps when you can share data that supports what you are saying.