Coming soon ... to a neighborhood near you!

Pre-marketing signs can help move your property

By AMY STUMPFL
For Brentwood Home Page

For most people, the words “Coming Soon” are associated with a new movie trailer, or perhaps a new restaurant or shop that’s about to open for business. But for those in the real estate industry, a Coming Soon sign can play a valuable role in their overall sales strategy.

Just as a movie trailer generates excitement about a film before the big premiere, pre-marketing signs can generate buzz about a property before it even hits the MLS.

“Coming Soon signs can be very effective when handled properly,” says John Pegram, an independent broker with ReMax Elite. “Once I’ve agreed to list a property, I’d like to be able to put a For Sale sign up immediately. But in this competitive market, I can’t afford to show the house until everything is perfect. That usually means bringing in a professional home stager to de-clutter and neutralize the space. So while we’re going through that process, we go ahead and put the sign out front, with a Coming Soon header.

“It creates a real sense of urgency for potential buyers,” he says. “Now you have people watching for the property to go on the market, tracking it on RealTracs or Zillow. And you start getting calls from people asking when the property will be ready to show, and even setting up appointments.”

Of course, the operative word is “soon,” and real estate professionals recognize that there’s a limited window for this pre-marketing method.

“It can take a couple of weeks to get a house ready to show,” says Dick Williams, a Realtor with Crye Leike, who works alongside wife Judy Williams. “But you don’t want to leave a Coming Soon rider up longer than that – it defeats the purpose and can really put off potential buyers. They start to wonder if there’s a problem with the property. That’s why we don’t use the Coming Soon banner in our [print] advertising. Some Realtors do, but I think it’s risky. I’d rather have the visual traffic, rather than an outdated ad.”

And while not every home benefits from a high-traffic location, Williams insists that even more secluded neighborhoods can benefit from Coming Soon signs.

“We recently sold a home in Belle Rive that was off the main street, on a quiet cul de sac,” he says. “A neighbor noticed the Coming Soon sign, and it sold before we even got it on the market.”

According to Amy Feldhacker, a Realtor with Zeitlin & Co. Realtors, this scenario is not all that uncommon. She uses Coming Soon signs with nearly all of her listings, with great results.

“I use them to communicate in a way that creates a buzz in the public, and more importantly, within the real estate community – which serves as the eyes and ears of the marketplace. We all have clients that are looking to get into a particular neighborhood, or maybe a specific type of home. The Coming Soon indicates to people that they have a short window of opportunity to get in front of the masses looking at a property.”

So buyers benefit by getting a jump on a highly desirable property. And the seller benefits by hopefully getting a quick offer and avoiding extensive showings and a long, drawn-out sales process.

“You have to look at each case individually,” Williams says. “But most sellers are happy to do whatever it takes to build interest and move the property.

“The only down side is that you sometimes have people knocking on your door, hoping to take a look at the house before it goes on the market. But we make sure the seller has a stack of our business cards, so folks can call and make an appointment.

“It’s a great tool, particularly in this market.”