Why A For Sale Board Still Matters
Why A For Sale Board Can Still Help You Find The Right Buyer
With so much attention now given to property websites, social media and video marketing, the traditional For Sale board can easily be overlooked. But for sellers, it remains a simple and surprisingly effective way of creating additional interest in a home.
Property marketing has changed enormously over the years. Professional photography, video tours, drone footage, social media and websites such as Rightmove and Zoopla all give sellers opportunities to put their home in front of thousands of potential buyers.
But sometimes the simplest forms of marketing are still among the most effective. The traditional For Sale board is a good example.
It may not seem particularly sophisticated, but think about what that board is actually doing. It's effectively a member of our team standing outside your home 24 hours a day, seven days a week, telling everybody who passes that your property is available.
Also, importantly, some of those people may never have found your home online.
Not every potential buyer is searching Rightmove
It is easy to assume that everybody thinking about moving has already set up a Rightmove search and checks it every evening. In reality, people move at different speeds.
Someone may have been casually discussing moving with their partner but has not started searching properly. Another person may live nearby and only consider moving if the right house becomes available. Someone else may regularly drive along your road because their children go to a nearby school or because family members live locally.
Then they see your board. Suddenly, moving becomes a little more real.
They may already know the road. They may have admired the house previously. They may even know someone who lives nearby and have been waiting for something suitable to become available.
That person might never have discovered your property through a portal because technically they were not yet looking. The board has found them instead.
Your neighbours can be a powerful source of buyers
One of the biggest advantages of a For Sale board is the attention it creates within the immediate area. People notice when a board appears in their road.
Neighbours talk to neighbours, parents talk at the school gates and local people often know friends or family members who would like to move closer to them.
It might result in a message saying, “The house around the corner from us has just come up for sale. Have a look because I think it would really suit you.”
That recommendation can be valuable. A buyer who already knows Collier Row, Rise Park, Mawneys or another part of Romford does not necessarily need convincing about the location. They may already know the schools, parks, shops and transport links.
Instead of deciding whether they like the area and the house, they only need to decide whether they like the house. That can make them a particularly motivated buyer.
A board can create interest before the online launch
There can also be advantages to generating some interest before a property appears across all of the major property websites. Not every home needs to be placed everywhere immediately.
Sometimes there can be value in preparing the marketing properly, contacting registered buyers and creating some initial interest before the main portal launch. A For Sale board can play a part in that.
Someone passing the house may call because they have seen the board before they have seen professional photographs or an online advert. That can potentially produce an early viewing and gives the seller useful feedback before the property receives its full exposure.
In some circumstances, it may even produce the right buyer. If it doesn't, you still have the main online launch ahead of you.
More interest can improve your negotiating position
The real value of marketing is not simply getting as many people as possible through the front door. It is creating genuine demand.
If one buyer likes your home, that is good. If two or three buyers want it at the same time, the seller is usually in a much stronger position.
Buyers behave differently when they know there is competition. They are less likely to assume they can simply make a low offer and negotiate downwards. A board provides another route for creating that interest.
Perhaps the eventual buyer finds the property on Rightmove. Perhaps they are already registered with the estate agent. Perhaps they see it on social media. Or perhaps they simply drive past the house one afternoon and notice the board. As a seller, why would you want to remove one of those routes unnecessarily?
Does every seller need a board?
There will always be exceptions. Some sellers have privacy concerns, some developments restrict boards and occasionally there may be a genuine reason why having one is not suitable.
But where there is no particular reason not to have a For Sale board, we think sellers should seriously consider one. It usually costs the seller nothing and requires very little effort. Yet it could create another enquiry, another viewing and potentially another offer.
Traditional marketing still works
Good estate agency marketing is not about choosing between traditional and modern methods. The best approach is to use them together.
Professional photography makes your property stand out online. Video allows buyers to experience more of the home before viewing. Social media creates additional exposure. Property portals provide enormous reach and your agent’s database gives access to buyers who are already actively searching.
Then the For Sale board catches everybody passing the front door. It may be one of the oldest pieces of estate agency marketing, but that does not make it outdated.
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07969 638349
duncan.kaye@keysandlee.co.uk
