Coming Soon

A trend you may have noticed over the past couple of years that is becoming more common is the “Coming Soon” home.  Generally speaking, the concept behind this marketing strategy is to build up the anticipation and excitement of a new listing prior to it hitting the market.  The idea is to attract the interest of multiple buyers based on the principle of scarcity by creating an auction effect, in which buyers will want a home more if they believe that other buyers want it too.  A typical example for marketing your home as “Coming Soon” is when another home is listed in your neighborhood, is similar to your home, and you need to do some finishing touches to get your home ready before it is put on the market; but you want prospective buyers who may be considering the other home to see your home, before they make a buying decision on the other home.  

“Coming Soon” listings do have a downside however and that is the listing agent, buyer agents, and homeowners, are not permitted to show the home to any prospective buyers before it’s beginning list date (as stated in the written listing agreement and it is typically the day the home is listed in MLS).  This rule is in place to prevent anyone from gaining an unfair advantage of selling the home before other interested prospective buyers have a chance to see it and make an offer. 

In summary, it is not essential to create buyer excitement by marketing your home as “Coming Soon”.  If a home is priced to sell the day it hits the market, a new listing will have the same effect as “Coming Soon” since other Realtors and buyers will recognize a properly priced listing and will want to quickly see it and submit their offers.  So if your home is ready and priced accordingly, you may want to just go ahead and put it on the market and let the showings begin and offers come in.  If your home is not ready but you want to get a head start marketing it before it goes on the market, then you may want to consider entering into a “Coming Soon” agreement with your Realtor.

 If you are ready to buy or sell, call Mary Staton or Bert Ward - they’ll be happy to answer any questions.