With rising inventories and anxious sellers demanding more and more open houses, you have to be creative. I've used with success a progressive open house that consists of at least five homes that are within walking distance of each other. Many agents might think banding together with the competition to draw more people is dangerous, but I look at it as completition.

Progressive open houses to be effective should have a theme. In spring use a garden/house walk twist, have sellers plant and spruce up their landscaping and invite a local interior designer to do a low-cost makeover in one room as an calling card for their business. Advertise the garden/house walk, have cards and tour maps at the first house that can be stamped or stickered at each home visited, and when they complete the card they can deposit it for a chance to win a garden or home design book. In the fall, you can use a harvest theme, and give away pumpkins, with a completed house-visit card. Send out a press release announcing the event, combining a special event with a public open house will draw many more people, create interest, and get traffic through your property listings.