it's one of the most effective ways to sell your home. it's one of the most effective ways to sell your home. the open house. in fact, they've become so popular they've almost become an american pastime. >> but opening your front door to browsing buyers you could be rolling out the welcome mat to thieves looking to rob you blind. here's abc's brandi hitt. >> reporter: watch this man strolling through a home during a realtor's open house. on security video released by the lapd, he heads to a back bedroom where the family had taken precautions and locked expensive jewelry in a closet. police say the thief ripped the front off a locked drawer seen here in his hand and got away with a large amount of jewelry. >> this all happened within ten minutes. >> reporter: fran solomon's home was also hit during an open house. a victim, police believe, of the same thief. she walked in on the suspect stealing $200,000 worth of jewelry from her closet. >> he was stuffing jewelry in his socks.