Open House Follow-Up: Free Text and Email Templates

When to follow up after an open house

Three messages, spaced out, is enough for one visit:

• The same evening: a short text. Thank them, name the address, and send the listing link so they can look at the photos again at home, where the decision actually gets made.
• The next day: an email. It has room for the details a text doesn't: the link, an answer to anything they asked, and an offer of a private showing.
• About a week later: a check-in. One question: is the home still on their list? If it isn't, ask what they're looking for.

Then stop. Three unanswered messages is an answer of its own, and the visitor already has your number and the listing link if they change their mind.

The timing follows when open houses actually happen. In 290 open-house dates agents published on our listing sites (created January 2022 to October 2026), 49% were on a Saturday and 38% on a Sunday, and of the 213 with a start and end time, 72% started between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 59% ran two hours (full numbers). So most open houses wrap up by mid-afternoon on a weekend: text that evening, email the next day, and the one-week check-in arrives before the following weekend's open houses.

What to say

• Use their name and the address. They may have walked through five houses that weekend.
• Send the link. A listing page with the photos, the details and your contact information is more useful than "let me know if you have questions". If the listing has its own website, that's the link.
• Mention one thing they said. "You asked about the roof" or "glad you liked the backyard" shows you were paying attention, and it gives them an easy thing to reply to.
• Ask one question, not three. A text that ends with a single question gets a one-line answer. A text with three gets put off until later.
• Keep it about the home. Don't guess at who will live there or which neighborhood "suits" them. The same fair housing rules that apply to the sign-in sheet and the listing description apply to your messages (words to avoid).

Visitors who already have an agent

When a visitor writes an agent's name on your sign-in sheet, the safe default is to follow up with the agent, not the visitor. The National Association of REALTORS^® Code of Ethics (2026 edition) says that "all dealings concerning property exclusively listed, or with buyer/tenants who are subject to an exclusive agreement" shall be carried on with the client's representative unless that representative consents or the client starts the conversation (Standard of Practice 16-13). It also bars soliciting a buyer agreement from a buyer who is already under one (Standard of Practice 16-5). Those rules turn on an exclusive agreement, and you usually can't see whether a visitor has signed one, so treat any agent they name as their representative. Your brokerage may have its own policy on top.

That doesn't mean silence. The writer above gives you a same-day text to the buyer's agent with the listing link, an email offering to answer questions or set up a showing, and a one-week request for feedback, which your seller will want anyway.

When the visitor didn't say, the messages to them include a line offering to send everything to their agent if they have one. Standard of Practice 16-13 also asks REALTORS^® to ask prospects whether they're party to an exclusive representation agreement before providing substantive services such as writing an offer, and that line asks early. If they reply that they do, switch to the agent. "Didn't say" is the writer's default for that reason.

Texts and emails you send yourself vs. a campaign

These templates are for one-to-one messages: you, from your own phone and email, to one visitor. Adding sign-in-sheet contacts to an automated text campaign or a marketing email list is a different thing: automated marketing texts can require the person's prior express written consent under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and state texting laws. Email has its own rule. CAN-SPAM covers commercial email whether you send one or a thousand, and asks for your postal address and a way to opt out, so the email above adds both when you fill in your office address. The practical risk grows with lists, so ask your broker before you put a sign-in sheet into a drip campaign.

Common questions

How soon should you follow up after an open house?

The same day. A short text that evening, while the visit is fresh, then an email with the details the next day and a check-in about a week later. Most open houses in our data are on a Saturday or Sunday and start between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., so the text goes out that evening and the check-in lands before the next weekend's open houses.

What should you text after an open house?

Thank them by name, name the address, include the listing link so they can see the photos again, and invite questions. Keep it to two or three sentences. If they mentioned something specific, like the backyard, say so; it shows you were listening.

Should you follow up with open house visitors who have an agent?

Send your follow-up to their agent instead. The National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics says that when a buyer is under an exclusive agreement with another agent, dealings with that buyer shall be carried on with their agent unless the agent consents or the buyer starts the conversation (Standard of Practice 16-13), and it bars soliciting a buyer agreement from them (Standard of Practice 16-5). You usually can't tell whether a visitor has signed one, so treating any agent they name as their representative is the safe default. Share the listing link with the agent and offer to answer questions or set up a showing.

How many times should you follow up after an open house?

Three touches is plenty for one open house: a text the same day, an email the next day and a check-in about a week later. If they don't answer the third, stop and let them come to you; they already have your number and the listing link.

Sources

• National Association of REALTORS^®, 2026 Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, Article 16 and Standards of Practice 16-5 and 16-13 (effective January 1, 2026).
• My Single Property Websites listing data: open-house dates on the 5,711 listing sites created January 1, 2022 to October 10, 2026, pulled October 10, 2026 (method on the sign-in sheet page).

Related: Open house sign-in sheet · What to put on a single property website · Fair housing words to avoid · Guides