As the Spring buying season kicks into high gear, we are seeing more and more real estate signs in front yards. It always amazes me with the marketing strides made in this digital age, how the real estate yard sign is still at a prehistoric stage.
Traditional Real Estate Yard Signs Tell Buyers Nothing About Your Home
The for sale sign in your front yard is the first thing a potential buyer might see and can be the perfect opportunity to give them a peek at what’s inside. But, the truth is, most for sale signs tell a potential buying nothing. We’ll go through four of the most typical real estate for sale signs in our market and answer the question “What does the for sale sign say about your home?”
The 3 Foot Headshot Yard Sign
Let’s start with my favorite sign, the 3 foot headshot for sale sign. Admittedly, it’s not the most popular real estate yard sign, but I see it often enough to get a mention. The headshot signs are usually the biggest and are posted on the tallest stake, so even people driving by in a tall pickup truck will easily be able to see it. A potential home buyer will probably know your home is for sale, but they likely will remember more about what the headshot looked like than the front of your house, which defeats the purpose entirely.
The Logo Yard Sign
Similar to the headshot sign, the for sale sign with the company’s logo does absolutely nothing to give a potential home buyer information about your home. These signs are popular, so someone driving by will likely know your home is for sale. But, given the thousands of similar signs they have seen throughout the course of their lives, what makes them remember the one they saw in your yard? In my experience, nothing.
The Face AND Logo Yard Sign
Sometimes we get lucky enough to see both the agent’s headshot and their company logo on the sign. The potential home buyer driving by will again likely know your home is for sale, but they will know nothing about price, what it looks like inside, how many bedrooms or baths – you know, the important stuff. They will know what they absolutely don’t care about – what your agent looks like and what company they work for. I ask you, how does that help you sell your home for top dollar?
The Basic Text Yard Sign
This one is usually just hard to read, so it is the least effective. When a potential home buyer is driving by at 25 mph, there is nothing for their eye to grab to remember how to get info about your home later. Sure, it has the agent’s name and phone number, but who remembers that?
Will a Potential Buyer Remember the For Sale Sign they Saw In Your Yard?
If you have one of the signs described above, the answer is simple – no, they won’t. The most you’ll get from these signs are a name and number of the agent. Most people can’t remember someone’s name and nearly no one can remember the phone number. Our brains just aren’t trained for that. Even if you can retain that info when you first see it, by the time you got to where you could look it up, your mom called telling you about the crazy thing your brother did, two drivers cut you off and you’re thinking about the fifteen things you have to do tonight before you go to bed. A phone number you saw driving home is the last thing on your mind.
Would You Use a Photo of Your Face to Sell Your Car?
If you were selling your car, would you post a big picture of your face or your company’s logo or just your name and phone number? No, absolutely not! Because you know the potential buyer for your car could care less what you look like and what company you work for. They might want to know how to get a hold of you if they are interested, but they won’t be calling you unless they’ve seen photos of the inside of the car, learned something about its features, the make, model, etc. Why would you tolerate someone using this strategy for your most expensive asset?
Does the Sign in Your Yard Market Your Home or Get Your Agent’s Next Listing?
Let’s be honest. The majority of Realtors could care less if your home sells or not. They care that someone saw their yard sign in your yard and called them to sell their home. If they can get listings with the sign they have in your yard, it is free marketing for them. If the sign in your yard doesn’t specifically market your home, why are you allowing it to be there?
What Should Be on the Yard Sign in Your Front Yard?
Stay tuned for our next post, where we tell you what should be on the for sale sign in your front yard to attract the most number of showings, and get the highest amount of money for your home.
Want to Sell Your Home for Top Dollar?
We understand how to position your home to be the best value on the market and get buyers to pay more for it. Because our marketing program focuses on the merits of your home, not our company’s logo, we generate more buzz. Our home marketing program gets our clients the most money for their home in the shortest period of time. To learn more about our home selling system, check out our Austin Home Sellers section. Then, call us at (512) 827-8323, email us at info@11OaksRealty.com or fill out our Seller Survey to get started.
What’s the Most My Home Could Sell For?
Online real estate portals give you an idea for what your home is worth. Need a more qualified range of what your home is worth in today’s market? Try our Qualified Home Evaluation where one of our home selling specialists will prepare a more detailed analysis with the upper limit of your home’s value.
Leave a Reply