Coming Soon! and Pocket Listings

Posted by Abbott Klar Real Estate on Tuesday, October 29th, 2013 at 8:32am

'Coming soon' signs  and 'pocket listings' are a bad idea for sellers:

Think about it! No one like stale bread... Lately, I've noticed many more "Coming Soon" signs going up about town and staying there for weeks (sometimes months) before the house goes live on the market.  This does not benefit the sellers!  Once a For Sale sign goes up the clock on the 'freshness' of your home starts ticking.  As soon as your the For Sale sign goes up the activity level on the house skyrockets, neighbors and buyers are interested in knowing what the asking price is? What is looks like inside? Is it a good deal?  But if the property is not fully on the market, these inquires are left unanswered.  Even worse, people start making assumptions about the house that might not be true. 

Remember. even Miss America wears make up...  You should wait to 'go live' on the marketing of your home until your home is fully ready.  This includes, most importantly, the exterior and yard of the property.  You want your neighbors to tell all their friends that a great house just came on the market, not have them wondering if there is something wrong with the house. People will offer less for the house, because 'it has been on the market for so long.'   Again. the goal is to have everyone talking about how great your house is, not how long it took you to get the house ready to sell.  Also, coming soon signs might actually be unethical, in fact many local Realtor associations ban them.  There is a reason for this!  A coming soon sign only helps the listing agent, as the property is not fully on the market and buyer agents cannot show the property.  So, sellers, don't do this!  Hire professional Realtors who will guide you through the process of getting your house ready for sale.  Only when your house is "show ready" should you put up the for sale sign. 

Now, let's talk about pocket listings.  

As the market heated back up this year we noticed a serious uptick in the number of pocket listings.  Fewer qualified buyers will see your house as it is not being fully advertised and made available to the entire market.  Therfore: you will get less money for the house.  Pocket listings benefit the listing agent as they are more likely to sell it themselves and 'get both sides of the deal'.  So, if you want to sell your house for the most money in the least amount of time you should expose it to the highest number of qualified buyers.  The best way to do this is to list it with an experienced and local agent who will guide you through the process to expose the property to the greatest number of qualified buyer.

Now there might be a few rare exceptions:  Pocket listings originated with sellers who were not motivated to sell their house, but "had a number" in their head that if a buyer came along and paid that much for their house they would move.  So if you are 'kinda, sorta, thinking about selling, but not really sure you want to do it now', perhaps you can try this.  The other time pocket listings are used is for a 'high profile' seller who did not want people to know their property was for sale.  Clearly for these sellers price is not the highest priority...  We suspect most sellers want to sell their property for the most money at the best terms and the only way to do this is to let everyone know that you are selling your house.  Pocket listings do the exact opposite!

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Thanks for reading our blog! We at Abbott Klar Real Estate Group are an experienced, full-service real estate team that specializes in the diverse neighborhoods of Washington, DC. If you’re buying, we’ll help you find the right house that will become your home. If you’re selling, we’ll guide you through the process, and get your home the attention it deserves. Our mission is to listen, really listen, to your needs, and connect you with a real estate investment that will improve your financial picture.  

We offer an easygoing,low-pressure approach to real estate. We don’t chase every deal. We wind up talking our clients out of just as many deals as we endorse. Our style is calm, competent and helpful. We offer unmatched transactional competence and deep Metro DC experience. We’ve been at this for years, and are incredibly proud that most of our business comes from repeat clients.

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