Open Home Day Playbook
A vendor’s checklist for every open home, week to week
Download PDF · 6 pagesOpen homes are the buyer pool conversion event of your campaign. Every other piece of marketing exists to bring buyers to one of your opens. This playbook covers the rhythm of the four to six week campaign and what you should do at each stage so the property presents at its best every single time the front door opens.
The week before your first open
The first open is the moment your campaign goes live in person. Buyers arrive with the highest interest of the entire campaign. Get this one right.
- Walk through the home with your agent two days before. Identify any final issues.
- Finalise all painting, repairs, and styling at least three days out.
- Have the lawn mowed and edged, garden beds tidy, paths swept.
- Confirm the open home time and any access arrangements with your agent.
- Have at least one printed brochure or digital link ready for buyers to take.
- Decide where pets will be during the open. Off-site is ideal.
- Decide where you will be during the open. Off-site is ideal.
- Plan where to put valuables, prescription medication, and personal documents.
The day before
A clean, organised home the day before is much easier to present perfectly the morning of. Do as much as possible in advance.
- Deep clean the entire property, including bathrooms, kitchen, windows, and floors.
- Wash all bedding, replace with fresh white or neutral linen.
- Empty bins and clean out the fridge of anything with strong odour.
- Tidy garage and any sheds. Buyers look in these.
- Cut fresh flowers or buy a single neutral bouquet for the kitchen and master bedroom.
- Arrange somewhere for pets to be the next day, off-site if possible.
- Confirm with your agent the time you need to be out by.
- Charge your phone. Pack a bag with anything you will need for the few hours away.
Morning of the open
The morning is for presentation polish and final logistics, not for new work. Anything that takes longer than 30 minutes should have been done yesterday.
- Light breakfast at the property if needed. No strong-smelling foods (bacon, fish, garlic, curry).
- Open all blinds and curtains. Switch on every light in the home.
- Set air conditioning to a comfortable temperature 30 minutes before opening.
- Wipe benchtops, hide any small appliances, dishwash anything in the sink.
- Make all beds, fluff cushions, fold towels.
- Light a single neutral candle or use a low-key diffuser. No heavy fragrance.
- Do a final walk through every room with the eyes of a stranger.
- Move all vehicles off the driveway and onto a side street.
Thirty minutes before
The final stretch. Your agent arrives, sets up signage and brochures, and you leave.
- Hide all personal documents, keys, and valuables.
- Put pets in carriers or move them off-site.
- Bins out of sight.
- Soft music playing at low volume in one or two rooms (optional).
- One final check of bathrooms: fresh towels, no personal items, clean mirrors.
- Check the front door area: clean welcome mat, swept porch, no clutter.
- Leave the property at least 15 minutes before opening time.
- Take the dog with you, or arrange for a neighbour to mind it.
During the open
You should not be at the property during the open. Buyers cannot speak honestly about a home with the owner standing in the kitchen.
- Leave the property entirely. Take a walk, get a coffee, run errands.
- Stay contactable by phone in case your agent needs anything.
- Do not return early. Even five minutes early can disrupt buyer conversations.
- Do not engage with passers-by, neighbours, or anyone you suspect is a buyer outside the home.
- Trust your agent. They know how to read interest and follow up.
- Most opens run 30 to 45 minutes in Brisbane. Plan around that window.
After the open
The hour after the open is when your agent learns the most. Get the debrief in writing.
- Return to the property only after your agent confirms it is clear.
- Ask for a written buyer engagement summary within 24 hours: numbers attended, level of interest, any contract requests.
- Note any specific feedback that came up more than once. Recurring feedback is the most useful signal in the campaign.
- Discuss any presentation tweaks needed for the next open.
- If interest is high, your agent may have follow-up calls or second inspections to schedule. Make the property accessible.
- If interest is low after two opens, expect a strategy conversation about price, marketing, or method.
Reading buyer feedback
Open home feedback is the single best campaign data you have. Knowing how to read it is the difference between a productive campaign reset and an unproductive one.
- Recurring feedback on the same issue (kitchen, bathroom, parking) is real. Address it or accept the discount it implies.
- One-off comments are usually noise. A single buyer who wants four bedrooms in your three-bedroom home is not data.
- Silence on price is often the loudest feedback. If no buyer makes a price-conditional request, the price is not the issue.
- High inspection numbers with no second inspections suggest a presentation or layout issue.
- Low inspection numbers suggest a marketing, pricing, or photography issue.
- Your agent should be able to summarise the buyer pool by week three: where the genuine interest sits, what their range is, and what would convert them.
Inspection by appointment
Some campaigns mix scheduled opens with private inspections. Each format has different vendor demands.
- By-appointment inspections give buyers more time and reduce the rushed feel of an open.
- They also give the vendor less notice. Make peace with the home being constantly presentation-ready.
- Set rules with your agent: minimum notice (typically 2 hours), no-go times, and how access will be managed.
- Use a key safe or smart lock for after-hours inspections if both you and your agent are comfortable.
- For premium properties or auction campaigns: by appointment is often more appropriate than open opens.
The vendors who get the best campaign results are the ones who treat every single open like the first one. Same standard, same preparation, same time-out of the property. There is no auto-pilot in a sale campaign.
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