"Your open house is really a party for me." (OSH Notes in RED)

This is a paragraph excerpt from an article noted below.

Hire a real estate broker to sell your home and one of the first things he'll likely suggest is hosting an open house, so potential buyers can casually check out your property on a weekend afternoon. While open houses are promoted as a great way of finding a buyer, a National Association of Realtors study found that their success rate is a mere 2%.

No matter. Having an open house serves another important purpose - for the broker. "It gives him a database of clients," says Sean McNeill, an independent real estate broker based in New York City who says that he buyers. "At open houses, you get all kinds of people walking in. Some are [trying] to see how much they should sell their own places for; others just want to get a look at what's out there." All are perfect pickings for a broker looking to increase his roster of buyers and sellers. "Think about it," McNeill says. "The broker is devoting a couple hours of a weekend. He won't do that unless it helps him in a big way."

I agree mostly with the above!  Although they left out another reason for open houses!  There are several instances when Realtors schedule time with their buyers on Sundays since buyers are available and their agents don't need to adhere to showing instructions and/or the seller's stringent home availability.  Also consider buyer's who on their own or working with an agent like to go to open houses at their own leisure with out needing to make an appointment.  I've seen buyers come to an open house at the same property more than once and make an offer several times!

 SOURCE: [http://finance.yahoo.com/education/real_estate/article/101456/10_Things_Your_Real_Estate_Broker_Wont_Tell_You via: smartmoney.com]