How should you follow up after an open house?
Send a short, specific thank-you the same day, follow up the next day with something useful, then space a few more touches over the week. After that, move people who are still early into a slower monthly check-in. Match the follow-up to the visitor: an active buyer, a neighbour and a buyer who already has an agent each need something different.
An earlier post covered getting sign-ins into your lead system. This one is about what to send once they're there.
Do agents really skip open house follow-up?
Often, yes. In Mike DelPrete's 2024 secret-shopper study of US brokerages, hosting agents asked open house shoppers for their contact details 58% of the time. Of those who asked, a third never followed up by phone, email or text (US data, August 2024).
That's the painful part. Those agents did the hard bit, getting a name and number from a stranger, and then the follow-up never happened. A simple plan, written before the open house, fixes most of it.
Want to know what to do next with AI? Book your AI Review.
What should you ask at the door so follow-up makes sense?
Keep the sign-in short, on paper or a QR form, and ask:
- Name, and a phone number or email.
- Are you working with an agent?
- Roughly when are you hoping to move?
- May we follow up by text or email? Yes or no.
- A line that names the agent and brokerage, how to reach them, and that the visitor can change their mind later.
Why ask permission on the sign-in?
Because a clear yes is easier to rely on than guessing. Under the CRTC's regulations for Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), a request for consent can be oral or written and must include who is asking, their contact information, and a statement that the person can withdraw consent (Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations, section 4). Record the answer with the date and the open house address.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check your sign-in wording with your broker of record.
What does a 7-day follow-up look like?
Here is an illustrative plan for a visitor who said yes and has no agent. Adjust the days to your market:
- Same evening: thank them, mention one thing they asked about, and offer a private showing time.
- Day 1: send the feature sheet, or the answer to a question you couldn't answer at the door.
- Day 3: ask one question, such as what they liked or didn't like about the home.
- Day 7: share news about the listing, such as an offer date, or two similar homes if they fit what they told you.
- After that: a monthly check-in until they reply, buy or say STOP.
How should you follow up with neighbours?
Neighbours who walk through are curious about value, and some are future sellers. Don't send them a buyer sequence. If they said yes to hearing from you, offer to let them know when the home sells, and send a short note a few times a year about what's happening on their street. Keep any market facts checked and attributed.
What if the visitor already has an agent?
Thank them once, answer any question they asked, and invite their agent to book a showing. Then stop. A sales sequence to someone who told you they're working with another agent damages your reputation and wastes everyone's time.
Who sends what after the open house?
Decide before the event. The host agent usually owns the visitors they met, and the listing agent gets a summary for the seller. Approved messages can go out on schedule from the system you use, but every reply should go to the host agent, who picks up the conversation from there.
Questions
Is signing in at an open house the same as agreeing to texts?
Not automatically. A visitor asking about the home may count as an inquiry under CASL, but a clear yes on the sign-in, with the date recorded, is simpler to rely on. Ask your broker of record.
How many messages is too many?
If each message has a reason and the person can opt out easily, a few in the first week is reasonable. Stop the moment someone asks, and slow down for anyone who said they are a year away.
If your open house sign-ins turn into one thank-you and then silence, book an AI Review. We walk through what happens after your events, and you pick the three jobs you'd most like to take off your plate. It's a short screen share, and you leave with a short written summary of your top three.
Sources
Brendon Bellerose, founderToronto, Ontario