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Home Selling Tips: The “Coming Soon” Sign

June 6, 2011 By Doug Francis

Real Estate Coming Soon signs Vienna VA

Are you selling your home or not?

When a Vienna VA real estate client asked recently about putting a Coming Soon sign in her yard, I adamantly told her that this would be a huge mistake. In fact, such an act would squander her best marketing opportunity and alienate the exact people she needed to attract.

Don’t alienate home buyers

Giving home selling tips about properly marketing their home is a real estate agent’s key role in helping clients get the highest price in the shortest time. Have you ever sold your car or traded it in for another? Would anyone have paid you Blue Book value if it was dirty but had a Coming Soon sign in the window?

I bet not.

Any home seller hoping to hit the market is probably repainting, minimizing, and swapping out old carpet. Maybe even replacing the old kitchen appliances or outdated brass light fixtures. Staging your home properly involves a lot of hard work, and strategically placing a for sale sign in the yard when you are putting your absolute best product out there will result in a strong buyer making a good offer faster.

When home sellers put out a Coming Soon sign before they are ready for the market, those home buyers who call for information wind up getting the old run-around. And people love getting the run-around in 2011, not! As a matter of fact, your house will probably sell the one around the corner that really is on-the-market.

I see these signs every once and a while, and some are up for months. There was a yellow sign on Park Street in Vienna this year for three months with a Coming Soon sign rider. Seriously, I had a few people mention that it was pathetic.

The Best Home Selling Tips

Here are some core parts of my strategy for helping clients sell a home.

  • Understand that home buyers are comparison shopping.
  • Understand that they want a home to be clean, and move in ready.
  • Understand that “paint and carpet” isn’t too cliché for your home.
  • Understand that you have a first chance to make an impression (good or bad).
  • Understand the importance of the first few weeks of being a “new” listing.

It is my opinion that sticking a sign out front that says Coming Soon creates no excitement, no buzz, but just pissed off home buyers who would have seriously looked at your house. AND, when it is finally “show ready” they will have found a reason to exclude it, such as; it looks too small, but it is too close to that busy road, or that the roof looks bad, and we saw a cat in the window, or that there are always jets flying over that place.

My home selling tip: When the “FOR SALE” sign hits your front yard, you better be ready to play to win!

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Filed Under: Blog, Home Seller Tips Tagged With: Home Seller Tips, real estate, Vienna Virginia

About Doug Francis

A Realtor specializing in unique and new homes around Vienna, Virginia, Doug started writing a first-hand blog about his everyday real estate experiences a decade ago. In depth, helpful and fun has always been the objective. Outside real estate, he "starred" in a tech commercial for Verisign's "Where the World Clicks" campaign, and was quoted in Money Magazine's Best Places to Live article on Vienna. He's a Boston University graduate who feels morning coffee is non-negotiable.

Being able to guide my clients through many real estate sales, either moving out, moving in, or just across town, has been a rewarding experience that helps when discussing a plan with a future client.

Being able to help them focus and understand our proven sales plan always eases their anxiety of this looming personal task. And, putting it into bite-sized steps always helps them get where they really want to be.

My background… I’ve been an active licensed agent in Virginia for 25 years, work at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty in McLean, and sell homes in all price ranges. I donate to the town tree replacement fund, participate in a neighborhood citizens association, and try my best to stay in shape.

Questions? Email doug@dougfrancis.com or call me at (703) 304-6827 to discuss your plans. Cheers!

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About Doug Francis

I am a Realtor with TTR Sotheby's International Realty® just outside Washington D.C. in Northern Virginia. I have been a full-time Realtor licensed in Virginia since 1991, and cover a big territory specializing in the Vienna real estate market and custom homes for sale.

I have unique knowledge of digital real estate marketing ~ and my marketing starts here. My elite clientele has been attracted to my results-oriented strategy for years, and I am accepting new clients now.

Thanks for reading... and feel free to contact me at 703-304-6827 or send me an email at doug@dougfrancis.com anytime!

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TTR Sotheby's International Realty
6723 Whittier Avenue McLean, VA 22101

Office: 703-319-3344
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