Coming Soon Homes
The Coming Soon Team 5/2/18

With many MLS's across the country stuck in the 19th century, SmartMLS just passed new regulations throughout the entire state of Connecticut making Coming Soon a valid listing status!

According to SmartMLS, a Coming Soon status means that the listing is “not available for showing or offers until a later date, but can still be marketed.” Effective March 1, 2018, real estate agents using SmartMLS can promote their Coming Soon listings to more than 17,000 SmartMLS members within all 8 counties across Connecticut.

One small step for MLS, one giant leap for Connecticut real estate agents!


The ‘Coming Soon’ Controversy

The Coming Soon listing status is still somewhat contentious. Not all MLSs allow agents to use the Coming Soon status, nonetheless promote a listing before it is active.

In the past, self-interested, short-sided, and even unscrupulous real estate agents intending to double-end the deal created their own coming soon marketing programs, employing such unethical practices as:

  • Allowing showings while the home is still preparing for market
  • Allowing some agents access before others
  • Not having a listing agreement signed
  • Not having the sellers best interest in mind
Because requirements and rules varied from agent to agent, Coming Soon programs often seemed arbitrary. Policies were confusing, undemocratic, and unfair.

But with 51% of home buyers finding the home they purchase online, more and more MLSs are acknowledging the merits of Coming Soon status. Pre-marketing will make brick and mortar real estate agents more valuable to home buyers and sellers.


Pre-Marketing and MLS Compliance

SmartMLS, one of the top twenty MLS boards in the United States, set their agents up for success by answering common questions about the new, Coming Soon status on their website.

Questions regarding Coming Soon listings include but are not limited to:

  • What is a Coming Soon listing?
  • What legal paperwork is required for a Coming Soon listings?
  • What are the rules and regulations for Coming Soon listings?
  • What are the advantages of using the Coming Soon status?
  • How should Coming Soon listings be marketed?
SmartMLS created several animated, explainer videos for real estate agents. The videos depict how agents can take advantage of the Coming Soon status through marketing and maintain compliance with the MLS board.

To further ensure statewide compliance, SmartMLS thoughtfully provides digital copies of all the required paperwork agents need to file before beginning a Coming Soon promotion period.


The Challenge: Reaching Prospective Buyers

SmartMLS helps agents circulate their Coming Soon listings to other, local agents; they do not syndicate listings out to third-party portals like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com.

To find the very best buyers for their properties, before they hit the market, Connecticut agents should promote their listings to more than just their in-state peers. Consider the following audiences:

  • In-state, prospective home buyers
  • Out-of-state home buyers
  • Relocators
  • Real estate investors
  • In-state agents that are not members of SmartMLS
  • Out-of-state agents
There’s a lot more agents can do to directly reach prospective buyers and ensure better results.


The Solution: Coming Soon Homes

Coming Soon Homes is an online real estate platform that promotes Coming Soon listings to buyers, investors, and agents, nationwide, through ComingSoonHomes.com. Coming Soon Homes provides:

  • Buyers with an inside look at homes before they hit the market
  • Sellers with a strategy to sell their home faster and for more money
  • Agents with a unique selling proposition to land more listings

Built by an agent for agents, Coming Soon Homes is one of the only websites in the real estate industry solely created with the seller in mind. While selling a home is typically one of the most expensive assets an individual owns, wouldn’t you think agents would take more time to promote a home in order to achieve a far greater result? Whether that be selling faster than market average or selling for more than list price. Sellers deserve an agent that will do whatever is necessary to provide the best end-result.

According to Hampton, her ultimate objective for each and every seller is to bring in ALL offers, not just the first few. “The first offer is not always the best offer!” says Hampton.


Preserving the Real Estate Industry

With companies like Redfin, PurpleBricks, Amazon, and discount brokerages attempting to take over the real estate space, agents can no longer solely rely on uploading their listing into MLS to find the right buyer. In an effort to keep up with online real estate providers in this digital age, 27% of agents and 21% of brokers spent between $501-$2000 on technology in the last 12 months.

Marti Hampton, CEO of Coming Soon Homes, conceptualized the real estate pre-marketing process over 10 years ago. Then found so much success in the concept locally that she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars developing ComingSoonHomes.com and she is not even close to being done yet.

“Apple’s been doing it since January 9, 2007, when the “first generation iPhone was announced, after years of rumors and speculation.” Apple has found a way to harness the power of creating anticipation, and as Hampton likes to say, “tell people all the great things your current product/service doesn’t have now, but then tell them you can’t have it right now, and people will go nuts.” Industries across multiple sectors utilize this essential pre-marketing method, including the film, music, theatre, and even construction industry.
Hampton was bold enough to test out the method in real estate, and thanks to a small but growing part in her efforts, it is now becoming a sweeping global trend. 

Using Coming Soon Homes, Hampton sells homes in her own market 58% faster than the market average. 33% of her listings get multiple offers--tripling the average in her market. Her records indicate a 200% increase in showings.

“These numbers don’t lie. They preach!” Hampton quips.
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Want to see what kind of results agents are seeing by pre-marketing their listings on ComingSoonHomes.com? Click here for video.

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