By Diane Saatchi

I am writing this on a holiday weekend morning. The daily email just arrived with the list of today’s open houses. Ready? It’s 45 pages long and there is an average of eleven houses per page.

However, I doubt there are even half as many people looking at properties this weekend. By the end of the day, there will be hundreds of disappointed sellers and many agents caught up on their correspondence and crossword puzzles.

That’s because open houses for the public are no longer as well-attended as they used to be. When you think about it, it makes sense. Most homebuyers begin real estate shopping online. It was not so long ago that would have seemed preposterous, but now we’re buying all sorts of things online. Who would have thought we would purchase shoes and fruit from images on a smartphone — let alone houses ... and, did we even imagine there would be a “smart” phone?

Although frankly, even in the heyday of open houses, I doubt many luxury homes were sold because of an open house. But open houses were a place to start.

Before smartphones (before the internet, actually) many folks began the home-buying process by going to open houses. If it wasn’t a beach day, you’d seen all the summer blockbuster movies, and you thought that someday, maybe you would want to own a vacation home but were not ready to call an agent, you’d stop at some open houses.

In the old days, people with even a passing interest in real estate would go open houses —- if for nothing else than to have something to contribute to the inevitable real estate conversation at the weekend’s cocktail parties. Today, they just watch their devices for updates.

Even though attendance is way down, sellers still want their agents to host open houses. And we do. If just a few folks or even no one comes to look, there is still value. The announcements for the events as well as the posted open house signs shine light on the listing. If you’ve ever clicked through to that property, the news of an open house will cause a ping on your phone or computer — wherever in the world you happen to be — reminding both prospective buyers and real estate agents of its availability. Sometimes agents visit with and without customers, curious neighbors stop in and homeowners considering selling come by to scope out the competition and maybe meet a real estate agent to engage when they decide to sell.

But, why so many open houses and so few visitors? I could cite lots of reasons, but aside from the technological changes in the industry, really, what matters is that there is more inventory than demand and there are just so many ways to market real estate. With so much competition, sellers and their agents want their product to rise above the others. Maximum visibility is one way to achieve that, and open houses are the least expensive and most visible of all agent efforts. But visibility only works if something about the product compels consumers to act. And, we all know that special something is price. After all, being one of nearly 500 open houses is hardly a standout.

For readers who may not know this, there are two kinds of open houses: those for the public and those for brokers. The latter are way more important and effective, but nowadays they tend to have just as much trouble attracting an audience. They’re effective because brokers have customers, usually several, and just a few excited brokers can get a listing in front of dozens of serious buyers. The math alone is good reason to focus efforts on open houses for brokers. But, with so many listings and so many open houses, even the most energetic and efficient agents could not possibly see all of the available properties.

Armed with the latest technology and decent memories, agents can take some shortcuts, but still, seeing the property in real life is best even for the most seasoned salesperson. With so many places to see and limited time, the best agents will focus their efforts on properties they know to be priced correctly and which will therefore capture their customers’ attention.

Getting other agents to come to your listing is a challenge. We’ve tried all sorts of perks, lunch, raffles, gift cards (even chair massages!) but I can say with certainty that nothing works like the right listing price.

If you are a homeowner reading this, please don’t think that the price is only reason customers and agents do not visit your properties. In a buyers’ market there is more product than demand, and some properties because of style, size and location attract a small audience in any market.