How Many Open Houses Should You Have?
Wondering how many open houses you should have to sell a listing, generate leads, or dominate your farm? This guide breaks down the ideal real estate open house schedule—including how many open houses to host per week, per month, or per listing, depending on your goals. Whether you’re a new agent, seasoned pro, or team leader, you’ll learn how to make every open house count.

Written by Seth Cox
Jul 06, 2025 / Open House Strategy
Some agents host open houses every weekend. Others rarely hold them at all. But the most successful agents? They use open houses strategically—timing them to market conditions, listing stage, and lead generation goals. In this guide, we’ll walk through how many open houses you should hold as an individual agent, team leader, or listing specialist. You’ll also learn how to adjust your open house frequency based on property type, farming strategy, and your role within a growing team.
By the end, you’ll know how to build an open house schedule that doesn’t just check boxes—but actually drives results.

Your Open House Strategy Determines How Many You Should Have
Before you set your open house schedule, ask yourself: What am I trying to accomplish with this open house? Real estate agents typically fall into one of these four open house strategies:
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Sell a listing quickly and efficiently
Hosting 2–4 well-timed open houses within the first 30 days of listing can increase visibility, create urgency, and bring in potential buyers. This is especially important for homes priced competitively in active markets.
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Generate leads to grow your sphere
Hosting open houses weekly—even for other agents’ listings—can build your sphere of influence you can nurture over time. If your main goal is real estate lead generation, consistency is key.
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Farm a neighborhood for long-term listing opportunities
If you’re focused on geo farming, open houses can position you as the local expert. Hosting 1–2 open houses per month in your farm area, even if they're not your listings, helps you meet homeowners and build name recognition. The key is consistency over time.
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Build team visibility and track agent performance
For real estate team leaders, open houses aren’t just about one transaction—they’re a tool for team-wide lead capture and brand dominance. Hosting multiple open houses across different listings and ZIP codes allows you to measure ROI and agent productivity.

How Often Should Real Estate Agents Host Open Houses?
Some agents thrive by hosting open houses every weekend, while others find success with fewer, more targeted events. Either way, consistency matters more than sheer volume. If you’re asking how often should you do an open house, think in terms of ROI—not habit. A smart open house schedule per month might range from 4 to 8 events depending on your business model.
New Real Estate Agents Should Host 2+ Open Houses Per Week
By hosting regularly, you’ll get consistent face time with real buyers and neighbors, gain valuable experience answering questions and handling objections, and stay visible and active in your local market. Every open house you host is a chance to grow your name recognition and fill your CRM with warm leads—especially if you’re using a tool like Showable to automate sign-ins and follow-up.
Recommended amount:
- 2+ open houses per week
- 8+ open houses per month
Experienced Agents Should Host 1+ Open House Per Week
Instead of focusing on volume, experienced agents benefit from making each open house count. With stronger pre-event marketing, better staging, and a clear follow-up plan, each event can generate high-quality conversations and more targeted opportunities.
Recommended amount:
- 1+ open house per week
- 4+ per month, depending on your market and goals

How the Role of Open Houses Evolves as You Grow in Your Real Estate Career
The amount of open houses doesn’t necessarily decrease as you gain experience. In fact, for many top producers, it increases. What changes is the intent behind each event—and the systems used to maximize every lead.
How Open House Strategy Changes Over Time
- New agents host open houses to gain live experience and start building a buyer pipeline from scratch.
- Mid-career agents use open houses to stay consistent in their farm area, support listing activity, and gather neighbors for future prospecting.
- Experienced agents treat open houses as part of a larger machine—back-to-back events, twilight opens, branded experiences, and systematic follow-up.
- As your business grows, open houses shift from a task to a strategic marketing asset that fuels long-term client acquisition.
- The most successful agents don’t host fewer open houses—they host smarter ones, with more leverage and a clear follow-up process.

How Many Open Houses Should You Have When Listing a Home?
Recommended Open House Frequency per Listing
- 2 to 4 open houses in the first 30 days is ideal for most homes.
- The first weekend is crucial—hosting on both Saturday and Sunday can create early momentum.
- Additional open houses may help if traffic slows or if you're launching a price improvement.
- Vacant homes are easier to show more frequently and may justify weekly events.
- Luxury listings typically benefit from fewer, more exclusive showings or broker opens.
How Many Open Houses Should a Real Estate Team Host
Recommended Open House Strategy for Teams
- Set a team-wide goal of 1–2 open houses per active agent per week, depending on listing volume and market conditions.
- Smaller teams (2–4 agents) can aim for 4–8 open houses per month. Larger teams (10+ agents) should plan for 15–25 or more monthly.
- Rotate newer agents into hosting roles to generate leads, while experienced agents focus on higher-impact listings or co-hosting.
- Use a shared system—like Showable’s team collaboration tools—to coordinate scheduling, signage, and follow-up.
- Treat open houses as a repeatable, team-wide lead generation campaign—not just a task handed to whoever’s available.

How Many Open Houses Should You Have When Geographic Farming?
Farming Open House Recommendations
- Aim for at least 1 open house per week within your farm area to maintain consistent visibility.
- If inventory is low, try for 2–4 open houses per month—even if they’re listings held by other agents.
- Use your open houses to meet neighbors, gather contact info, and tag visitors for follow-up in Showable.
- Make your events feel like neighborhood gatherings—invite residents, offer light refreshments, and always bring extra property flyers or branded materials.
- Track repeat visits and conversations to build long-term listing opportunities within your farm.

To Consider: 100 Open Houses in 100 Days
It’s not about perfection—it’s about presence and momentum. Even hitting 50–70 open houses in that timeframe can generate more face-to-face conversations than many agents have all year.
How to Execute a High-Volume Open House Plan
- Host at least one open house every day, or double up on weekends to stay on track.
- Ask agents in your office to let you host their listings, especially in your farm area or target price range.
- Use twilight opens and midweek events to fill gaps when weekend inventory is limited.
- Batch your setup process with a reusable kit: signs, printouts, digital sign-in setup, and follow-up templates.
- Automate everything you can—Showable makes it easy to handle sign-ins, tag visitors, and send follow-ups automatically.
What to Do When Your Open Houses Aren’t Getting Results
Signs Your Open House Strategy Needs a Reset
- Low turnout could point to weak promotion, poor open house signage, or inconvenient timing.
- Visitors aren’t engaging because the space isn’t staged well or the host isn’t prepared to guide conversations.
- You're collecting names but not building relationships, likely due to a lack of follow-up or unclear next steps.
- The seller is frustrated, not because of how many events you’re doing—but because they’re not seeing progress.
- You feel like you're going through the motions, without a clear goal for each event.
Related: 20 Open House Door Prizes To Boost Attendance And Engage Buyers

Factors That Affect How Often You Should Host Open Houses
Key Factors That Influence Open House Frequency
- Market conditions – In a seller’s market, one or two events may be enough. In a buyer’s market, weekly open houses help listings stay competitive.
- Time of year – Spring and early summer drive the most foot traffic. Winter and holidays may call for fewer, more targeted events.
- Geographic location – Urban homes benefit from weekday twilight opens. Suburban and rural homes perform best on weekends.
- Listing type – Vacant homes can be shown more often. Owner-occupied listings require more coordination and selectivity.
- Buyer behavior – If similar homes nearby are hosting open houses, you may need to match their pace to avoid being overlooked.
Best Times and Days to Host an Open House
When to Schedule an Open House
- Sunday afternoons (12–3 PM) consistently draw the highest traffic from serious buyers.
- Saturday mornings are ideal for early planners and casual drive-bys.
- Weekday twilight hours (4–6 PM) can work well for commuters in urban areas.
- Avoid major holidays, local events, and conflicting listing times whenever possible.
- Use past attendance data, weather forecasts, and local patterns to refine your timing.
Want a deeper breakdown? Check out The Best Times to Host an Open House.
How Long Should an Open House Be
Ideal Open House Duration
- 2 to 3 hours is the sweet spot for most open houses.
- A shorter window helps create urgency and limits buyer overlap.
- Longer events can feel slow and often attract unqualified visitors.
- Twilight open houses should be capped at 90 minutes to 2 hours, depending on daylight.
- Always time your event around your target market’s habits and the listing’s unique appeal.
For a full guide, see How Long Should an Open House Be?

Conclusion: How Many Open Houses Should You Have?
New agents can use open houses to build their pipeline, while experienced agents and teams often use them to scale visibility across listings and neighborhoods. Hosting more open houses isn’t a problem—as long as they’re done with purpose, consistency, and strong follow-up.
No matter your strategy, the most successful agents treat open houses as a system—not a one-off event. How many you should have comes down to what you're building toward—and how effectively you turn foot traffic into real relationships.
Whether you’re planning 4 open houses per month, trying to find the right open house frequency for farming, or wondering how many open houses it takes to sell a home, this guide should help you craft a strategy that fits your goals—not just industry norms.