Do Open Houses Sell Houses? A Denver Agent's Honest Take

Denver Realtor Andrea Osmond shares her honest take on whether open houses actually sell homes.

This is the great real estate debate, and I'm going to give you my honest answer: no, I don't think open houses sell homes. I also don't love hosting them. But before you write them off completely, hear me out — because I do think open houses are a tool, and like any tool, they only work when you use them on the right job.

I've been doing this long enough in the Denver market to have a real opinion here, so let's get into it.

Where Open Houses Don't Work: Anything Over $1 Million

Let's get this out of the way first, because it matters. If a home is priced above $1 million, an open house is usually a waste of everyone's time — and a real liability for the seller.

Here's why: nine times out of ten, someone shopping in the seven-figure range is not a first-time buyer. In my entire career, I've had exactly one couple buy their first home for over $1 million, and that only happened because a trust fund was involved. Buyers at this level almost always already have an agent, or they have connections to one, and they'll request a private showing instead of wandering into an open house on a Saturday.

So who actually shows up to an open house on a million-dollar-plus listing? Mostly looky-loos — neighbors and curious visitors who want to see inside a house they'd never actually buy. Sellers at this price point shouldn't take on that liability and exposure for foot traffic that was never going to convert. If you're selling above $1M, skip it and stick to private, agent-to-agent showings.

So When Are Open Houses Worth It? 5 Times They Help Sell a Denver Home

Once you're below that million-dollar ceiling, the calculation changes. Here are the five situations where I've seen open houses genuinely pull their weight.

1. The Home Is Priced for First-Time Buyers

In the Denver market, I'd put this range at up to $750,000. Here's my math: at 3% down and around a 7% interest rate—close to where rates have been sitting—that's roughly a $ 6,200-a-month payment. And honestly, I'm being generous calling that "first-time buyer" territory.

First-time buyers typically don't know where to start. They get excited, and they start hitting open houses just to figure out what they actually like. Eventually they connect with an agent they click with, and that's when they really get moving with the right process — pre-approval, a real search, the works. Sometimes the open house is what pushes them to go find out if they even qualify for that price range in the first place. The open house isn't selling the house here — it's educating a buyer who wasn't ready yet.

2. The Nosy Neighbors

I'll be honest, I haven't seen this one actually work out. But you never know. I've had clients who specifically wanted to live near their adult kids, or vice versa — so it's not impossible that a neighbor at an open house knows exactly the right person. If a neighbor gets excited about the listing and mentions it to someone, that can turn into a private showing down the line. It's a low-odds play, but it costs you nothing extra to leave the door open for it.

3. Working the Algorithm

As of August 2026, every listing on the MLS automatically populates out to Zillow, Realtor.com, and Homes.com. Here's the part most sellers don't realize: those sites tend to feature and boost listings with "something happening"—an open house, a price reduction, a status change.

I like to pair an open house with a new-to-market listing or a price reduction specifically to work that algorithm. It's a deliberate move to get the listing shown more that week across the major portals. Even if no one walks through the door, the open house flag itself can drive more online visibility—and more online visibility is what actually drives showings.

4. Fast Markets (Like 2021)

Back in 2021, the market moved so fast that private showings overlapped and were capped at 15 minutes each. Let's be real — it's absurd to expect someone to decide whether to hand over their first-born child and half their liver for a house in 15 minutes.

That environment is exactly when open houses earned their keep: they gave buyers real time to actually look at a home, and gave a shot to buyers who weren't fast enough to snag a private showing slot. The tradeoff was a huge liability for sellers — zero control over who came through, no real conversations or guided tours, and no record of who was in the house. Open houses that year were an absolute madhouse, but they served a purpose.

5. Slow Markets (Like Today)

Today's market is the opposite — it's slow. Buyers have been trained to sit back and wait for price drops before they make a move. Right now, a lot of buyers use open houses specifically so they don't have to "bother their agent" with a showing request, while still getting eyes on a property they're curious about. It's a low-commitment way for a hesitant buyer to stay engaged with a listing.

My Honest Take

So here's where I land: do I think open houses sell the house? No. Do I think they can help sell the house? Yes, in the right price range and the right market conditions. Do I enjoy doing them? Not even a little.

I think open houses are genuinely unsafe for agents. I've publicly advertised exactly where I'll be and exactly when — I'm a sitting duck. Do I love it when a home has cameras everywhere so my clients can keep an eye on me? Absolutely, yes. Do I try to bring a partner with me whenever I can? Always.

Some agents build their entire business around open houses — canvassing the neighborhood beforehand, blanketing the block with signs, treating it as their main lead-generation strategy. Usually that's newer agents or agents in a slower season building their own client base, and that's a legitimate strategy for them. It's just not mine, and it's not my sellers'.

Personally, I put my marketing dollars into real estate websites, promote the open house on social media, and place a handful of signs close to the property—not a trail of them for blocks. If someone shows up to see a home in person, nine times out of ten they saw it online first. I'd rather play as little chicken with traffic as possible planting yard signs on a busy corner.

At the end of the day, I'm a safety-first agent, and I just don't think open houses are the best use of anyone's time or risk tolerance — not for the agent, and not for the seller. But used strategically, in the right price range, at the right moment in the market, they're a tool worth having in the toolbox.

Thinking about listing your home and want a strategy that actually fits today's Denver market? Reach out and let's talk about what will really move your home — open house or not.