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By Josh Stern

Joshua Stern’s real estate career exemplifies strategic growth and leadership. Beginning in 2002, he leveraged the principles of The Millionaire Real Estate Agent (MREA) to build Utah’s #1 real estate team and rank among the top 100 teams worldwide.

Certainty For Your Real Estate Career. Lessons learned from Josh Stern who took the KW models & systems from 20 transactions a year to more than 350 transactions a year. Attend a Free Training

Do open houses actually bring in business? Or are they just for agents with extra time on their hands?

For Christopher McGee, they’re the foundation of his business. Four years into real estate, he’s still holding multiple open houses a month, and more than half of his business comes from them.

In this video, Chris sits down with me to share how he committed to this strategy early on and how he was able to build connections through open houses. From preparation and follow-up to handling low-traffic weekends, here’s exactly how he makes it work.

You can watch the full video above or jump to key sections using the timestamps below:

0:00 — Open House Playbook with Chris McGee

0:40 — How committed are you to doing open houses?

1:36 — The story of PLACE’s Chris Suarez’s

2:25 — What portion of Chris’s current deals come from open houses?

2:55 — Early struggles in real estate and changes in approach

3:20 — Becoming a local expert: Weekly data tracking and market podcasts

3:38 — Learning to bring more energy and warmth to visitors

4:48 — How to prepare for an open house

5:44 — Putting up signs and balloons: Why visibility still matters

6:15 — Visitor engagement: Asking better questions to learn what buyers need

6:55 — Using YouTube videos to build trust and show consistency

7:30 — Offering market snapshot videos at open houses

8:00 — How his weekly content supports post-open house follow-up

8:35 — The role of coaching and mentorship in refining his system

9:35 — What to say to agents who think open houses are a waste of time

10:10 — Even slow traffic days are opportunities to sharpen your skills

10:25 — Wrap up

10:48 — Reach out to me for coaching and connections

Whether you’re new to the business or feeling stuck, open houses can still move the needle if you treat them as a system, not a gamble.

If you want to connect with Chris McGee, you can contact him directly at (801) 834-9713 or christopher.mcgee@kw.com. Also, feel free to follow his YouTube Channel: Halcyon Real Estate.

Are you ready to dig into the Open House Playbook, we offer coaching, classes, and workshops to walk you through it step by step. Reach out to me at headcoach@kwutahcoach.com or (801) 252-5226. I’m more than happy to help.

  • Certainty For Your Real Estate Career. Lessons learned from Josh Stern who took the KW models & systems from 20 transactions a year to more than 350 transactions a year. Attend a Free Training

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