Usually not. Most house keys are made of brass or nickel silver, and a magnet does not pull on either metal. Even a steel key tends to be held in place by the pins inside the lock, so a magnet on its own is unlikely to draw the piece out.
Brass is a mix of copper and zinc. Nickel silver is copper, nickel and zinc, with no silver in it at all. It is harder than brass, so better quality keys are often made from it. Neither metal is magnetic, so a magnet held to the lock will not move a brass or nickel silver piece.
You can check your own keys with a fridge magnet. If it does not stick to your spare, the key is brass or nickel silver, and a magnet will do nothing for the piece in the lock. If it does stick, the key is steel. Steel keys tend to turn up more on some padlocks and car locks than on front doors.
Even with a steel key, the piece is held. Small spring loaded pins inside the cylinder press down into its cuts and grip it. A fridge magnet or a magnetic pickup tool is unlikely to drag it past them, and pushing a magnet tool into the keyway can nudge the piece further in, which makes it harder to remove.
What sometimes works on your own lock is gripping a piece that sticks out with fine pliers and pulling straight out without turning. If nothing sticks out, leave it alone. Superglue, forcing and turning the cylinder with the piece still inside are how a quick removal often turns into a new lock.
If it will not come out, we remove snapped keys for £85 by day, £120 in the evening and at weekends and £150 at night. Prices include travel and up to one hour on site, and often the key comes out without replacing the lock. The price is fixed before we set off.
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