The Top 6 Open House Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs

With today’s push for AI, digital marketing, and online communications, one classic marketing tactic for listing agents can’t be overlooked: Open houses.

Open houses are still one of the most effective ways to showcase a listing, generate interest, and capture leads—but only if they’re done right. Too often, real estate agents go through the motions without a clear strategy, missing out on opportunities to build connections and create urgency. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most common mistakes agents make when hosting open houses—and how to avoid them.

1. Failing to Market the Open House Effectively

The Solution: Vary your marketing channels, be consistent, and get members of the community excited to participate.

Many agents make the mistake of assuming a yard sign or MLS post alone is enough to bring in traffic that will incite a bidding war. However, in today’s more crowded market, that’s not sufficient. A successful open house needs multi-channel promotion.

In 2024, 43% of homebuyers started their journey by browsing online. Another 21% said their first step was to reach out to real estate agents directly. What both of these statistics tell us: To get the attention of homebuyers, you need a thriving online presence to showcase your listings and why you’re the best local agent.

One way to invest in your online presence is with social media. There are so many resources to help you market listings—from Instagram stories, Facebook event pages, and TikTok walkthroughs, you can place yourself in front of a diverse audience, appealing to buyers of all ages, neighborhoods, income levels, etc.

Related: Social Media for Real Estate Agents: How To Attract New Clients

While social media is an excellent way to inform a large pool of potential buyers about your listings and services, you’ll also want to incorporate a more direct marketing method into the rotation. There are several ways to do this, like:

• Starting an email campaign highlighting the listing. Make sure to include an excellent property description, open house dates, a variety of images, and contact information in case recipients have questions.
• Post in community groups on Facebook. Many regions have location-specific pages where agents can share listings. Take advantage of this free promo!
• Hand out postcards in the neighborhood or go door-to-door. There may be someone in the neighborhood who wants a relative or good friend to move closer. Let them know there is a home on the market in their neighborhood so they can use word-of-mouth to help drive traffic.
• Using a real estate data platform to find homeowners who are currently selling their homes. For example, you may find a local home for sale that was listed by a family who has grown out of it, making your listing their new upgrade. Or, if an elderly couple is looking to downsize and sell their family home, you may have a smaller, more manageable listing that piques their interest. Once you’ve found these leads, save them to a list, skip trace them, and share your listing and open house details. The good news? You can do this all with PropStream!

Are you curious about how PropStream can meet your unique needs as a real estate agent? Visit this page to learn more.

2. Not Staging the Property Properly

The Solution: Make the space clutter-free, neutral, warm, and inviting.

First impressions matter—and staging is what creates them. While many people emphasize the importance of curb appeal, many potential buyers will actually view the property’s full photo gallery online before seeing it in person from the outside. Because of this, a poorly staged home, or worse, one that's cluttered or completely empty, can turn off even the most motivated buyer.

Minor improvements can make a big difference: open the blinds for natural light, rearrange furniture to improve flow, add a few cozy touches (like a throw blanket or fresh flowers), and make sure the home smells clean and inviting.

Buyers aren’t just evaluating the property—they’re envisioning themselves living there. Help bring that vision to life.

3. Being Passive or Overbearing

The Solution: Be friendly, approachable, and available while giving visitors space to explore the home comfortably.

Striking the right balance in your presence is key. Some agents hover awkwardly, giving the hard sell and making visitors uncomfortable. Others plant themselves in a corner, buried in their phone, barely acknowledging potential buyers.

The sweet spot? Be warm, welcoming, and approachable. Greet each guest, offer a brief overview of the home, and then give them space to explore while remaining available for questions. Share helpful insights without pressuring anyone.

The goal is to be memorable for the right reasons, not for being pushy or absent.

4. Ignoring Digital Sign-In Options

The Solution: Consider using digital sign-in options that can pair with your CRM to decrease the likelihood that you’ll misread someone’s handwritten contact information.

Still using a paper sign-in sheet? You might be missing out on quality leads. Not only can handwritten contact info be hard to read, but many visitors skip the form altogether if it feels outdated or optional.

Switch to a digital sign-in tool on a tablet. There are plenty of lead capture apps available that make it easy to collect names, emails, phone numbers, and even buyer preferences. Many of these tools can sync directly with your CRM for seamless follow-up.

This simple switch can drastically improve your lead quality and response rate after the event.

5. Hosting at the Wrong Time

The Solution: Plan your open house during a time when people are more likely to be free (e.g., not during significant events, normal business hours, etc.)

Timing is everything. Scheduling an open house on weekday afternoons, when most people are at work, or during a local event like a football game or festival can tank your turnout.

Be strategic. Late Saturday mornings and early Sunday afternoons often draw the best traffic. But don’t stop there—think about your ideal market. Are you trying to attract young professionals? Families with kids? Retirees? Understanding your local demographic helps you choose the time slot that works best for them.

Bad weather can also be a deal breaker, so always have a backup plan or reschedule if needed.

6. Not Knowing the Property Inside and Out

The Solution: Update yourself on recent home upgrades, less notable features, local amenities, etc., to be ready for questions as they come up during the open house.

One of the fastest ways to lose a buyer’s trust is looking like a deer in the headlights when they ask you a pretty standard question about the property. If you’re hosting an open house, you should know the home better than anyone else—not just the square footage and number of bedrooms, but also recent upgrades, HVAC details, the age of the roof, nearby schools, community amenities, and local comps.

Do your homework before the event so you can confidently speak to the home's features and benefits. This builds credibility and reassures buyers that they’re in good hands.

How PropStream Can Help You Host Smarter Open Houses

Avoiding these mistakes is easier when you’re equipped with the right tools, and that’s where PropStream comes in.

With PropStream, agents can pull a complete property profile before an open house. From ownership history and mortgage data to comps, neighborhood trends, and nearby schools, you’ll have the details you need to answer any question with confidence.

Want to know how long a homeowner has owned the property, if there’s equity, or what similar homes in the area have sold for? PropStream shows it all in seconds, so you're never caught off guard and always one step ahead.

Hosting an open house is more than just unlocking the door and putting on a smile. It’s a chance to market the property, connect with potential buyers, and build your brand. By avoiding these common mistakes—and using PropStream to prepare—you can turn your next open house into a powerful lead generation event that delivers real results.