“Coming Soon” marketing strategies have become popular in today’s hot sellers market. Agents claim that coming soon signs in your yard will speed the sale of your home. Although there’s a good chance you will get an offer quickly, you may not get the best price.

As a buyer, on the other hand, you probably ran into situations where homes you wanted to see go in contract within a few hours of hitting the MLS.

How can this happen?

How can all potential buyers see the house and make an offer so quickly?

In this hot seller’s market some real estate agents take the easy road to get a quick sale. They put a “Coming Soon” sign in your yard and bet on getting offers before your home is available to show to the general public.

I believe this approach is not in your best interest, if you are a seller. It may even get you in legal trouble.

The Problems with “Coming Soon” Listings

Coming Soon signs are a common tactic to pre-market your home for sale. Agents argue that it gives your home early exposure and will lead to a quick sale.

Here are 6 reasons why you should NOT do it:

  1. Limiting Exposure Although Coming Soon listings are on the MLS, they must be clearly marked with a “Showings Start” date. Realtors may ignore the listing, if it is not available to show when their customers are searching.
  2. No Showings You are not allowed to show your house to potential buyers until it is officially available for showings.
  3. Fewer Offers Your agent may just shop the property to his/her buyers to keep both sides of the commission.
  4. Lower Offers With less competition and limited exposure you will NOT get the best and highest price for your property.
  5. Buyer’s Remorse Often buyers will rescind on their contracts, if they are rushed into making quick offers.
  6. Fair Housing Violations If you show your home to selected potential buyers while it is still listed as Coming Soon, both you and your agent may violate Federal Fair Housing laws, which could result in stiff penalties.

I employ a different marketing strategy that gives all potential buyers an opportunity to see your home for sale and submit qualified offers.

Call me at (614) 975-9650 to learn more about my proprietary marketing system. On a recent listing it resulted in 11 offers, a contract $20K above list price, and the sale closed with the first offer my sellers received.