Once a staple of real estate marketing, open houses are no longer as effective in selling a home as they once were. According to recent data from the National Association of Realtors®, only 7% of homebuyers found their home through an open house. Of those, most had already retained a buyer’s agent and would have seen the home through them regardless.

Open houses are one of the most difficult aspects of selling a home. Not only does the home need to be spotless, but the homeowner must leave the premises for most of the day, normally a weekend. In today’s world, most of these open houses are not even held by the listing agent themselves. They realize that these events are not likely to result in a sale, so newer agents hold these open houses in the hope of finding new clients.

For the homeowner, there are other risks associated with an open house beyond just wasting time. Even with the best planning, real estate agents cannot monitor every inch of the home. Thieves often use this time to tour the home, either to steal valuables when the agent is not looking, or to scout for future burglaries. It’s easy to imagine a thief pocketing a piece of jewelry or even a financial document while the agent is discussing the open floor plan downstairs.

The main point is that open houses are not as important as they used to be in selling a home. In this digital age, most buyers review homes online and then arrange a private tour for those they like. Given this shift, the hassle and risk of an open house may not benefit the homeowner the way it did in the past.