"My experience is that open houses have been very beneficial to the buyer and the seller, especially when the agent advertises the open house. With two of the listings I closed last month, the buyers came to the open house after seeing the property advertised as open," said Trish Forsman of Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos.

She thinks accessibility makes a difference. "One of the big pluses is that the seller is giving access to buyers directly and allowing them the leisure of looking at a home at their own pace and to fit their schedule," Forsman said.

Forsman believes the Internet has made significant impact on the way buyers research and look for homes. She cited California Association of Realtors Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young, who recently gave statistics to Realtors that indicated almost half of the buyers polled spent an average of six weeks searching for a home on the Internet before they contacted a real estate professional. Open houses offer a way of tapping into this pool of buyers.

"The downside of open houses is opening up your home to the public and your neighbors, getting it ready for showing and having to be away from the house for three hours on the weekend," Forsman said.

Since the Internet now plays such a large role for many people when they are shopping for a home, open houses are a way for people to see a house they have only seen on a computer screen. This is especially true if they haven't yet found a Realtor to help in the search.

Brian Kessler of Alain Pinel in Los Gatos said, "Buyers shop for homes on the Internet, and open houses are a great tool for buyers to see a property they find on the web."

On the other hand, Realtor Francine Nelson shares the opinion of others in the industry when she says she finds open houses to be most beneficial to Realtors who want to meet people in the neighborhood and find buyers. "I have had hundreds of open houses and only sold two homes in over 20 years due to the buyer coming to the open house," Nelson said.

Realtor Chuck Lane of Coldwell Banker thinks open houses help to get the house sold.

"Buyers see it with their agent on one day and then can go through a second time at the open house. Buyers can 'bond' with the house, take their time, and measure. Some buyers are going to the open house without their agent having to show it and then contact their agent if interested," Lane said.

According to Realtor John Leslie of Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos, open houses definitely have pluses and minuses. Some sellers insist that a home be open the first two weekends and after any price change, while privacy is an issue for some sellers.

"Some sellers don't want their home held open. It's a privacy issue with them. Selling their home is stressful enough, but having strangers parade through their home, opening doors and closets can be very disturbing," Leslie said.

Leslie believes one of the better ways to sell homes is through virtual tours, although not every home fits the profile for virtual selling.

"Homebuyers who are using the Internet website will be more attracted and interested in seeing the homes that are on the virtual tours. Some virtual tours provide 360-degree views of the interiors and of the neighborhood. Of course, some properties should be left to the imagination and to the images created by the property description in the listings provided. A virtual tour of a fixer-upper is not going to be a good marketing tool," Leslie said.

Staging a home is another good way to sell homes. "Old interiors really can look 100 percent better and more attractive with professional staging. Homes that are unoccupied should have some level of staging done to make the empty rooms look warmer. Staging is a great tool, but is sometimes a tough sell with homeowners who think their house looks just fine or well lived in," Leslie said.

Dale Klippel of Prudential California Realty recommends taking a virtual tour on the computer, then calling a Realtor to help identify things of interest and the finer points of the home.

"Pictures are one thing, but the experience of seeing it firsthand can never be replaced with anything else. Call your favorite Realtor for the most important part of your shopping, the actual in-home firsthand look. This way you also have the ability to discuss all your ideas and answer all your questions with your agent while in the home," Klippel said.

Even when someone decides to spend a Sunday afternoon touring open houses, the chance of them feeling really comfortable with a home usually comes only after they see it a second time through with their Realtor, Klippel said.

"A Realtor has trained eyes to help point out the really good elements of the home, neighborhood, schools, shopping, freeway access and dozens of other hot items that the lay person might miss. The Realtor will also point out the negative aspects of the home and area and also what the potential buyer might not have seen when touring a home for the first time on a Sunday afternoon," Klippel said.