In our last post, we discussed the four typical for sale signs we see in front yards and what your for sale sign says about your home. If you couldn’t tell, I’m not a fan of a for sale sign that doesn’t market what it is intending to sell – your home. Why? Because it does nothing to market your home, only your agent’s brand. We feel our job is to sell your home for the most money and we do that by marketing your home, not our company. We design a custom for sale sign for every home that is designed to market your home, not our faces or company logo. Our custom signs generate more interest, bring more qualified showings and ultimately get sellers more money for their homes. Why do we feel so strongly about custom for sale signs?
Buyers are Impatient and Want Details Immediately
In this age of instant information, people want details immediately. They are not willing to pick up the phone to find out basic info, nor are they usually willing to text. Those TEXT for more info signs are usually pointless, no matter what your agent has told you. If a potential buyer can’t find basic info by going to a website or with a quick Google search, they get distracted and move on to their next activity.
What Should Be On the For Sale Sign in Your Front Yard?
A custom real estate sign that gives a buyer exactly what they’re looking for will generate more interest. What should be on the for sale sign in your front yard? Here are the five things we always include on every for sale sign.
- Professional photos of the interior of the home
- Professional photos of the backyard
- A description of the home with pertinent info (beds, baths, sq ft)
- URL of your home’s dedicated website
- Price
Photos Get Buyers Excited About Going Inside & Keeps Snoopers on the Curb
Standing on the curb, a potential buyer knows nothing about what the inside of your home looks like. If they think you aren’t home, curious buyers will sometimes peek in your windows. Rude, I know, but they will. Showing buyers photos of the interior on the for sale sign will get them excited about going inside later with an appointment AND, most importantly, will keep them on the curb.
Description of Your Home Explains What Photos Can’t
The number of bedrooms and baths, whether there is a study or media room can’t be accurately portrayed through photos on a sign. To make sure a buyer doesn’t miss something important, we write a description of the home directly on the sign, so buyers don’t even have to get out of their cars to learn more about the property. If it is raining, or they are too lazy to get out of the car and get a flyer, they’ll be able to pull over and get the pertinent info.
Easy to Remember URL they Can Either Use on their Phone or at Home
An easy to remember URL that directs a potential buyer to a website that markets your home only gives buyers the info they want, instantly. Our custom home websites are not your typical, templated, one page listing site. We take the time to build a robust, multi-page website that immerses buyers in the great features of your home AND your neighborhood. Remember, there are a substantial number of buyers who are new to Austin and aren’t familiar with the area. Rather than letting them use the limited info they know to make a snap judgment, we tell them about the great park for kids down the street, the best place to get dinner on a busy weeknight, where they can get groceries, where the schools are, how far they are from major landmarks, etc. Our goal is to give them all of the info they’re looking for – so they don’t have to leave your home’s website to get it.The longer we can keep them “touring” your home’s website, the more engaged they will be with your home. The website is designed to get qualified buyers excited about touring your home – so much they’ll ask their buyer’s agent to make sure to include it on their home tour.
Why Tell Buyers Price?
Our custom signs display a price rider at the top of the sign, so buyers can easily see how much the home is listed for. In today’s instant information era, you need to tell a potential buyer how much your home is listed for. Why? Because if they know it is within their price range, like the pictures of the inside and the curb appeal, there is a much higher likelihood they will actually schedule a tour to go inside. If they don’t know the price and are the type that won’t pick up the phone to find out (most are), they will forget about your home. If they know they can afford it and they like it, they won’t.
Displaying Price Gets More Showings
Though there are no metrics with a large enough sample size to accurately say homes with prices displayed on signs get a higher percentage of showings (simply because there are very few real estate signs, if any, that display price), we have seen it with our listings. The listings we have where the owner has agreed to put the price on the sign have gotten more showings than other listings in the same neighborhood at the same time.
Pinterest Pins Get More Likes when they Display Price
An interesting stat from the social networking site, Pinterest, gives some insight into how buyers buy today. On Pinterest, we see displaying price on a pin correlates to the number of likes it gets. Interestingly, Pinterest pins with prices get 36% more likes than those without. This tells me when buyers know price and it is within their budget, they’re more willing to act.
Custom Yard Signs Target a New Pool of Potential Buyers
Custom yard signs are especially effective at targeting buyers looking for homes in an area they frequent or for people driving by that aren’t necessarily in the market, but know someone who is. For example, a neighbor might have a friend who wants to move into their neighborhood. Though the neighbor is probably not set up on internet searches monitoring new inventory for their friend, if they saw the yard sign on their way to work and know it is within that person’s price range, they’re more likely to remember to tell their friend. A regular yard sign will alert them of the new listing, but since they know nothing about it, they are less inclined to do the research and send it to their friend.
Will the Sign that Sits in Your Yard Market Your Home or Get Your Agent’s Next Listing?
Ask yourself, do you want the sign in your yard to tell potential buyers about your home, or do you want it to be a marketing piece for your agent? If it was my house, I would want the yard sign to generate more interest and more money towards my bottom line, not build my agent’s pipeline for the year.
Want to Sell Your Austin Home for Top Dollar?
If you’re looking to sell your home and want to get top dollar, you want to hire a Realtor who understands how today’s buyers buy. We not only understand the home buyer process, but we put all of our marketing efforts toward getting more interest for your home, not our company. Check out our Austin Home Sellers page to learn more about our proven home marketing system. Then, call us at (512) 827-8323, email us at info@11OaksRealty.com or fill out our Seller Survey to schedule a no obligation consultation.
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.
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