On reality TV shows an expert stages the house lots of buyers come through and the the house is sold in a weekend.  Even on TV these days it's not that easy and it never was in real life around Tampa Bay.

Open House Truths--A sale rarely occurs due to an open house.  Agents meet potential buyers at open houses but they usually don't buy that particular house.

It's a Buyer's Market--Here in Tampa Bay it's a buyer's market. It's not uncommon to do an open house and have no buyers show up. Don't get me wrong, if you stand out in a thunderstorm often enough you might get hit by lightning. Homes have been sold this way but not very often.

Cooperating Brokers Sell Homes--I (Agent A) show your house to Buyer A who called from a sign, the internet or a print ad and something about your house doesn't work for him. I show him another property usually listed by Agent B. Then Agent C comes along and sells your home to her Buyer B who called her from a sign, the internet or a print ad.  In this scenario, three different agents were involved and two buyers.  This is how the cooperating brokers use the multiple listing service (MLS) to get homes (the inventory) sold.