Want to draw serious home buyers to your home and get the most money?
Open houses are back. In a big way.
Despite all the internet listings, virtual tours, and home videos – buyers still want to see and walk through a property in person. In fact, they really want to.
The problem?
Most people who put their house on the market have no idea how to prepare the home for an open house. They open the doors, turn on the light and cross their fingers. That almost never works.
The good news is it doesn’t have to be that way.
Prepping a home for an open house is free to do, easy to implement, and can have a huge impact on how quickly the home sells.
In This Guide We Cover:
- Why open houses matter in today’s real estate market
- The open house prep checklist no one can ignore
- Home staging tips that actually work
- How to make open house day a huge success
Why Open Houses Still Matter In Today’s Market
Walk into any open house right now and you will see the changing nature of real estate.
The traditional open house has evolved a bit. Gone are the days of a few for-sale signs in the yard and an “open” sign on the door.
Buyers want serious sellers to take the sale of their home just as seriously as they do. That is good for sellers, because it really is a win-win.
Case in point:
According to the Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report – 65% of sellers hosted 1-3 open houses in 2024. That is a big jump from just 44% in 2021.
In other words: buyers are craving the in-person home buying experience. They are looking for the chance to visit a property in person before putting an offer in.
A good open house provides the buyer with the best possible experience during the real estate home search process.
And that matters.
An open house does more than just show off the home. It creates urgency and competition among buyers. Buyers start seeing their competition right in the home. That competition leads to serious offers.
Open houses give buyers a chance to visualize their future home.
But all of that is only possible if the home is ready.
A cluttered, dirty or unfinished home not only turns buyers off – it hurts the sale. Buyers remember a house that was messy, smelly, or had needed repairs. Those negative impressions last through to the offer.
Open houses are big time investments for serious buyers. Help them out a little bit. Do the work and make the home look its best.
Selling your home? Working with the MN Nice home buyers team means getting an experienced agent on your side that has worked with hundreds of home buyers in the region.
This team has the inside scoop on what home buyers are looking for.
Preparing the Home For The Open House
The reality is – there are certain things that must be done for a home to be ready for open house.
Ignore these critical steps and you are setting the house up for a sub-par showing.
Step 1: Deep Clean Everything
The number one thing you must do before an open house is this.
Clean, clean, clean.
We are not talking about a regular cleaning of the home here. Buyers will look under the sink, in cabinets, in closets, behind furniture.
Everything has to be spic and span.
Pay particular attention to:
- Clean the grout, mirrors and fixtures. Don’t forget the inside of the toilet.
- Kitchen appliances – the outsides are important, but so is the insides of the fridge, stove, oven, etc.
- Windows and natural light sources – these often get overlooked. Buyers want to see natural light.
- Carpets and flooring – they get dirty and people notice.
The easier you make it on buyers eyes to see the space, the faster the home will sell.
Step 2: Declutter Like Your Life Depends On It
There is a lot of advice out there on staging a home. Not everything has to be done. At the end of the day staging a home is simply done to help buyers see themselves living there.
The biggest single thing you can do to stage a home is to declutter.
Remove at least 50% of everything visible in the house.
Buyers will try and make their life in the home in their mind. Packing up the things that get in the way, forces buyers to focus on the home itself instead of all the clutter.
Step 3: Do Necessary Repairs
These small issues are red flags to buyers that things are not quite right with the home.
Fix that leaky faucet. Repair the door that sticks. Change the lightbulb that will not turn on. Buyers see these things as signs the home has bigger problems that the seller has not addressed.
Do not fall into this trap.
Final Tips For Staging a Home
Don’t want to do the full staging process? Here are a few tips that will help you get it close without too much fuss.
Stage Key Rooms First
While the whole house should be decluttered, not all rooms need full staging.
Focus on the living room, master bedroom, and kitchen.
These three spaces sell homes. Prioritize these three rooms when preparing the home for an open house.
Create Flow
Move furniture to create clear walking paths through the home. Buyers need to be able to walk through the home without hitting furniture.
Take out large or bulky furniture that makes rooms feel cramped. Space equals money.
Neutralize Personal Style
Neutralize any personal style in the home.
Family photos should be removed. Bold or personalized paint colors should be toned down. Religious or political items should be removed.
Buyers need to be able to see the home as their future place of residence.
Add Finishing Touches
Small finishing touches go a long way when preparing a home for an open house. Consider adding some fresh flowers on the dining table. Lemons in a bowl in the kitchen. Clean white towels in the bathrooms.
Open House Day Checklist
The day of an open house is not the time to get lazy.
Make sure you prepare the property before the open house and do the following on the day:
- Turn on all the lights, open all blinds and curtains, even during the day.
- Control the temperature. Adjust the thermostat to a comfortable temperature at least one hour before buyers start arriving.
- Make sure the home smells great. Use less potent smells. Baking cookies or brewing fresh coffee are great ways to have a nice smell in the home.
- Take prescription medications off the property.
- Lock up jewelry, cash, electronics and valuable items in the home. Open houses bring strangers in, protect your valuables.
- Sellers should not be present at an open house. Buyers will not open closets, check all the spaces and are unlikely to ask questions with the homeowner present. Take the dog out too. Not everyone loves animals and some people have allergies.
Conclusion: Making The Most Of Open Houses
Open houses should never be left to chance. They need to be carefully planned out and implemented to ensure a good turnout and experience for potential buyers.
The most important step is preparation. Preparing the home for an open house needs to be on top of the seller’s to-do list.
Clean the home top to bottom. Declutter and depersonalize. Tackle those lingering repairs and needed touch ups.
Stage the home, or at least the key areas of the home, to create that visual impact for buyers.
And on open house day make sure you make the home look and smell great.
Buyers are seriously investing their time to visit an open house. They want to know the seller is taking the sale of their home just as seriously.
By taking care of these simple tasks and following this guide the home seller can increase the chance of a successful open house and the offer to come.






