One of the most visible and recognizable aspects of selling a home is the open house. As long as homes have been sold, the open house has been part of the sellers repertoire. And for good reason. However in today's real estate market, the concept of the open house has changed rather dramatically. In years past the open house was a major selling tool for owners and realtors. It was used to showcase the home and draw prospective buyers in so that they could experience the home for themselves.

But, the real estate market has changed quite dramatically. I will say that the same things still happen with open houses. It is still used to showcase homes however, the target market has evolved. In a day and age where marketing has become ever more critical to home sales, the open house has evolved into more of a marketing tool. Homes are typically showcased more on the internet on the realtor's own site and local area's MLS listings page, whereas the open house has become a good way to market a given home to other agents. Often there are two different kinds of open houses that are held, one for the public, and one exclusively for buyer's agents.

One of the largest problems with open houses is that not all who look are qualified buyers. Most of the people who attend the classic open house are merely "having a look." There is also the fact that it can be a real hit and miss situation with viewers who are actually planning on buying. Far more progress is usually made at the open house held for buyer's agents.

That being said there is still quite a bit of positives that come from the open house. It helps to gain attention for the home and the more agents that are aware of the listing, the more potential customers will have access to it. Also, of buyers ave searched the local MLS listings, then they may have already seen the home and the open house is a great opportunity to have a closer look.