Are Open Houses worth while?

There is some debate on the effectiveness of open houses to sell a home, but it's still a common tool in the Realtor toolbox. Some agents work an open house for one reason...to get new buyer leads. You might find at an open house that the agent sitting there isn't the one that has the home listed. It's often an agent from the same office that doesn't have many clients of their own just yet and sitting at an open house gives that agent an opportunity to talk to potential buyers and hopefully make them a client. But back to the question at hand.

It's my opinion that open houses DO IN FACT HELP SELL YOUR HOME. But they should be done infrequently and at the right time. If you have an open house every weekend, you might convey the message that you are desparate to sell and a potential buyer might pick up on that if or when they make an offer. I prefer to hold an open house once every six weeks. And it depends on the house I'm trying to sell what time and day is best. Family oriented homes seems to do well with Sunday afternoon open houses, after the church crowd get's out. Homes that interest the first time buyer seem to do better with Saturday mid-day open houses.