Open house ideas: prep, sign-in, safety and virtual open houses

Why open houses are still worth doing

Open houses are one of the most used sources in a home search. In NAR's 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report, which surveyed people who bought between July 2024 and June 2025, 48% of buyers used an open house during their search, behind only a real estate agent (85%), a phone or tablet (70%) and online video sites (52%), and ahead of yard signs (32%).

On the selling side, agents held an open house for 59% of sellers who used an agent, after the MLS (85%) and a yard sign (67%). Virtual open houses were rare: 5% of sellers got one.

Open houses also find you clients. In the same report, 5% of buyers found the agent they used by visiting an open house and meeting the agent, and among buyers aged 18 to 26 it was 13%. That is why the sign-in sheet deserves as much thought as the cookies.

Open house prep checklist

Prep the home the way you would for listing photos, because visitors will compare the rooms with the photos they saw online. Our real estate photo prep checklist has the room-by-room list; for the day itself, add these:

• The day before: confirm the time with the sellers, check that every light bulb works, mow and sweep the entrance, and arrange where the sellers, kids and pets will be.
• Valuables and private things away. NAR's safety tips for sellers list keys, credit cards, jewelry, prescription drugs, mail and bills, and laptops or other small electronics. Lock them away or take them out of the house.
• One hour before: open every blind, turn on every light, set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature, close toilet lids, empty bins and air out cooking or pet smells.
• Paperwork on the counter: a one-page feature sheet with the price, beds, baths, square footage, a few photos and a QR code to the listing and the walkthrough video. Our guide to the real estate flyer covers what to put on it.
• Disclosures and HOA documents in a folder for buyers who ask.
• A walk-through yourself, in the order you want visitors to go, so you know which doors stick and which room to start in.

Sign-in and lead capture, with privacy in mind

A sign-in is how you follow up, but people are more willing to leave their details when they know what happens with them. Keep it short and honest:

• Ask only what you need: name, phone or email, and whether they already work with an agent. Leave out income and other questions you don't need to follow up.
• Say how you'll use it, in one line on the form: for example, that you'll send them this listing's updates and won't share their details.
• Use a tablet or QR form instead of a paper sheet on the counter, so the next visitor can't read everyone else's phone number.
• Ask if they have an agent. If they do, follow up through that agent rather than pitching them directly.
• Follow up within a day with something useful: the feature sheet, the walkthrough video and any price or date change.

Open house signs

Directional signs bring drive-by traffic, but where you may put them is set locally: cities, counties and HOAs often limit signs on public property, medians and corners, and some limit the hours. Check your city's sign rules, the HOA rules and your brokerage's policy before the day, ask before you put a sign on a neighbor's lawn, and pick every sign up when you leave.

Signs also find buyers on their own: in NAR's 2026 report, 5% of buyers found the home they bought through a yard sign or open house sign.

Open house safety

1. Never hold it alone if you can avoid it. Bring a colleague or lender, and tell someone at the office when you start and finish.
2. Know your exits and keep your phone charged and on you, not in a bag in the kitchen.
3. Walk behind visitors, not in front of them, and avoid going into small rooms or the basement with a stranger.
4. Watch the arrivals. NAR's safety tips warn that groups sometimes arrive near the end, with some keeping the agent busy while others walk through the house.
5. Lock up properly. The same NAR page warns that open houses are used to scout valuables and entry points, so check every door and window before you leave, and ask the sellers to check again when they get home.

Promote the open house before the day

Most visitors decide to come from what they see online. In NAR's 2026 report, 81% of buyers who used the internet called photos very useful, 38% said the same about virtual tours, 29% about videos and 24% about information on upcoming open houses. Start promoting about a week ahead:

• Listing photos first. They are what people judge the home on. See real estate agent photo ideas for the shots that answer buyers' questions.
• A walkthrough video that shows how the rooms connect. Our guide on how to film a house tour covers the route, light and length.
• Add the open house to the MLS listing, so it shows up on the portals that pull from it.
• Social posts: a coming soon post, an open house post with the date, time and address, a short walkthrough reel and a story on the day. Our page on real estate social media posts has the sizes and captions.
• Neighbors: a note or postcard a few days before. Neighbors often know someone who wants to move to the street.

How to run a virtual open house

A virtual open house is a live video tour, usually on a phone, where viewers can ask questions in the chat. Few sellers get one (5% in NAR's 2026 report) and 11% of buyers called virtual open houses very useful, so treat it as an extra for out-of-town buyers and people who can't make the day, not as a replacement.

1. Announce it a few days ahead with the date, time and platform, and post a reminder an hour before.
2. Test the connection in every room; the basement and back bedrooms are where streams drop.
3. Hold the phone horizontally for Facebook and YouTube, and use a gimbal or walk slowly with both hands.
4. Follow one route: the front, entrance, living areas, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, then the yard and the street.
5. Show what photos can't: the view from each window, storage, the size of the closets, the light switches and the noise from the street.
6. Have a second person read the chat and pass you questions, and answer them out loud.
7. Finish with the next step: how to book a private showing, and a link to the listing and the walkthrough video.

Photos and a walkthrough for the listing

Good photos and a walkthrough video do most of the open house promotion for you, and the October app is one way to get both from your own phone: it guides you through each room on an iPhone 12 or newer, showing where to stand and keeping the phone level, and an image model then makes finished photos from your capture, usually within a few hours, along with a walkthrough video. A place is up to 6 rooms; a bigger home counts as several. Photos cost $49 a place, $99 with a walkthrough video, and the first place is free. Check each photo before you post it. See pricing.

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