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.
If you’re a real estate agent, one of the most common questions you’ll ask—or get asked—is: How many open houses should you have? The answer isn’t one-size-fits-all. It depends on your goals and your ambition. Are you trying to sell a specific listing, build your buyer pipeline, farm a neighborhood, or generate more brand visibility?
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.
Open House Strategy
Your Open House Strategy Determines How Many You Should Have
There’s no magic number when it comes to how many open houses a real estate agent should host. The ideal frequency depends on your strategy, market, and goals. Open houses can be used to sell a home, generate leads, farm a neighborhood, or elevate your brand. But without a clear objective, hosting too many can quickly become a drain on time, energy, and resources.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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
How Often Should Real Estate Agents Host Open Houses?
Once you’ve clarified your strategy, the next question is: how many open houses should you actually be hosting each week or month? The right amount depends on your experience level, how many listings you have access to, and whether you have systems in place to capture and follow up with leads.
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
If you’re a newer agent, open houses are one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to meet active buyers and start building your client base. Even if you don’t have your own listings, you can offer to host open houses for other agents in your brokerage.
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
This steady rhythm helps new agents build momentum quickly and develop critical skills that drive long-term success.
Experienced Agents Should Host 1+ Open House Per Week
If you’ve been in the business for a while, your approach to open houses becomes more strategic. You likely have listings already, and your name recognition or referral flow may bring in leads without the need to be in the field every weekend. Still, hosting open houses regularly remains a proven strategy—especially when tied to listing launches, geographic farming, or key buyer segments.
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
Regardless of where you are in your career, the number of open houses you host should always match your business plan—not just your calendar availability.
Role of Open Houses Evolves as You Grow in Your Real Estate Career
How the Role of Open Houses Evolves as You Grow in Your Real Estate Career
Most real estate agents host open houses at every stage of their career—but the purpose and approach change over time. New agents may use open houses to meet buyers, gain confidence, and stay visible. More established agents often use them to scale their business, dominate neighborhoods, and drive listing-side opportunities.
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.
Whether you’re early in your career or decades in, open houses remain one of the most effective ways to meet buyers, engage sellers, and stay top-of-mind in your market.
How Many Open Houses Should You Have When Listing a Home
How Many Open Houses Should You Have When Listing a Home?
Most listings don’t need endless open houses—just the right amount at the right time. So how many open houses does it take to sell a home? The sweet spot is usually in the first 30 days, when buyer interest is highest and the home feels fresh to the market. Knowing how many open houses to schedule per listing is key to creating urgency without overexposing the property.
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
When you lead a real estate team, open houses aren’t just about selling individual listings—they’re part of a broader business strategy. A well-executed open house plan can support lead flow, agent productivity, and brand visibility across multiple neighborhoods or ZIP codes. But to get results, you need to set clear expectations and systems.
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.
When managed well, open houses become one of the most scalable and cost-effective lead engines for any real estate team.
How Many Open Houses When Geographic Farming
How Many Open Houses Should You Have When Geographic Farming?
If you’re farming a neighborhood, hosting open houses consistently is one of the most effective ways to build visibility and earn trust. Unlike postcards or ads, open houses put you face-to-face with both buyers and homeowners—many of whom are future sellers in your farm.
Over time, a steady open house presence helps position you as the local market expert, even before you land the next listing.
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.
Want to build a full farming plan around this strategy? Read What Is Farming in Real Estate? The Ultimate Guide for Agents.
100 Open Houses in 100 Days
To Consider: 100 Open Houses in 100 Days
If you want to go all-in on open house lead generation, there’s no better way to fast-track growth than the 100 open houses in 100 days challenge. This high-volume strategy is designed to flood your pipeline with buyer leads, increase neighborhood visibility, and push you far beyond the typical pace of agent activity.
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.
The 100 in 100 challenge isn’t for everyone—but for driven agents, it’s a fast way to build massive market share through consistent, in-person connection.
What to Do When Your Open Houses Aren’t Getting Results
If you're hosting open houses regularly but not seeing the results you expected—whether that's traffic, leads, or offers—it doesn’t always mean you’re doing too many open houses. But if you’re wondering how many open houses is too many, the answer depends on results, not volume. More often, the issue is lack of open house promotion, engagement, or follow-up—not the quantity of events.
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.
When open houses aren’t working, cutting back isn’t always the answer. Often, the better move is to refine your preparation, improve how you engage guests, and follow up with purpose. Done right, even one open house can move your business forward. Done poorly, a dozen won’t matter.
Factors That Affect How Often You Should Host Open Houses
Factors That Affect How Often You Should Host Open Houses
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to open house frequency. How many you should host depends on market dynamics, property details, and seasonal trends. Understanding these variables helps you plan smarter and avoid wasting time.
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.
Choosing the right time and day can make or break your open house turnout. The goal is to catch buyers when they’re most available and actively looking. While weekends still dominate, strategic weekday opens are growing in popularity—especially in busier markets.
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.
Open houses don’t need to last all day to be effective. In fact, keeping the event short and focused can create a greater sense of urgency and drive more concentrated traffic. Most buyers expect a clear start and end time, and longer events rarely result in more qualified leads.
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.
The ideal number of open houses depends on your goals. If you're trying to sell a listing, two to four open houses in the first 30 days is typically enough to drive interest. If you're focused on lead generation or farming, aim for one to two open houses per week to stay visible and active in your market.
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.
