Unlocking the Secrets of a Successful Coming Soon Listing: Insider Tips from its Biggest Pioneer
Unlocking the Secrets of a Successful Coming Soon Listing: Insider Tips from its Biggest Pioneer
Marti Hampton 1/27/23
Are you looking to sell your home but want to ensure that you get the best price possible?
One strategy that has proven to be effective for many real estate professionals is the use of a coming soon marketing campaign. In this blog post, we take a deep dive into the world of coming soon listings, including the history and evolution of this marketing strategy, and how it can benefit both home sellers and buyers.
We will also share insights and tips as a top real estate team in the Triangle that has successfully used this approach for many years. So whether you are a real estate agent looking to gain a competitive edge, or a home seller looking to maximize your returns, read on to learn more about the power of a coming soon marketing campaign.
As a top real estate broker in the Triangle, I have successfully used a coming soon marketing campaign for the homes I’ve listed since the early 2000s. Before that time, there were only a few coming soon signs around, and the only way to find out about a coming soon listing was to call the agent on the sign (probably the intent anyway). My thought was to appeal to home buyers and get those buyers to wait to see my new coming soon listings. I wanted the presentation of my home listings to be of the highest quality both online, (through quality video and photography) and in person (through stagging when applicable). It worked!
That is when I recognized one of the many selling points of taking the time to complete a coming soon promotion. The selling point is that often, we as consumers believe, what’s coming next is better than what’s here now. The world was becoming increasingly more online in the early 2000s I began to put my home listings on my website and share them as a coming soon listing only. The coming soon status, at least in my office, meant that the home would not be shown to any buyer or any agent with a buyer until it was open to being shown by the whole market. This was a strict rule and I adhered to this rule even when my agents begged me to show one of our coming soon listings.
In 2007, I hired developers to design the stand-alone website ComingSoonHomes.com. This site focused exclusively on coming soon listing. The site was a great success and helped agents, homebuyers, and home-sellers receive the latest and greatest information about homes that were ‘preparing for market’. One of the ways that we were able to build up a following for a newly listed home was by adding photos or new details of information about this home when the information became available. When a homebuyer was looking at one of our coming soon listings, when we added new info or a new photo, the homebuyer would be notified by text or email that there was new information on his favored listings. Many times, we would have thousands of buyers viewing a home before we opened the door for the First Open House (another feature of the site). We’ve sold more than a few homes during our First Open House, another feature that is advertised on ComingSoonHomes.com.
There is some important history that needs to be understood that relates to marketing a coming soon home listing. In the real estate industry, there have always been offices that had so-called “pocket listings”. This is hardly a new practice and did not begin or end with the CCP (Clear Cooperation Policy). The CCP was first introduced in 2008. The CCP is not a law but a rule enforced by the National Association of Realtors and is widely adopted by most of the local boards of Realtors and real estate companies.
The ‘old guard’ real estate offices used to brag that they had pocket listings in sought-after areas. They touted this to gain business and recruit agents. My question has always been, “who exactly does a ‘pocket listing’ benefit”’? A pocket listing only benefits the real estate company and the agents involved. Some would argue, but I believe that a pocket listing never benefits the home seller client. Therefore, I have never allowed our coming soon inventory to be shown to any buyer from any company (including my own) before we were ready to open the doors to the full market, all agents, and all home buyers.
The Clear Cooperation Policy is a requirement passed by many of the largest MLS (multiple listing services) in the US. The Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) has been the subject of some controversy since its introduction. This policy requires a listing broker to submit a listing to their MLS within one business day of marketing the property to the public. To add to the restraints of the seller’s right to choose the style of his home’s marketing, the newest infringement, requires all coming soon listings to begin DOM (Days on the market) the day the home is listed as a coming soon listing. I believe this rule stems from local boards being associated with the interests of big tech and big money entities verse the agent’s fiduciary responsibility to our clients, the homeowner and home seller.
The power struggle in real estate is real! It is real and most people don’t even know it’s affecting them and one of their largest assets. The American home. All business changes with the times and the real estate industry is no exception. One of the most powerful business principles is the power of being ‘first’!
Our exclusive ComingSoonHomes.com is a website designed as a strategy used to generate buzz and anticipation for a home that is coming on the market. Our website creates a landing page that gives home buyers a sneak peek beginning with some of the most sought-after features the home has to offer. We lead with your home’s best features. The goal is to create excitement and interest in the home before it is officially released and opened to the public for showings.
When we list your home for sale, we work tirelessly to ‘never miss the chance for your home to make a great first impression’ when entering the marketplace. During the time we are advertising your home as a coming soon listing, we often take the time to send our team’s home stagger for a professional consultation. During this time, we also arrange for professional listing photos to be completed. In some cases, we price out & complete needed home repairs. We also complete a detailed and informative property listing brochure. We include information about the neighborhood and local amenities.
A word about completing a home inspection during the coming soon period. Most of the time, in a home sale, the buyer completes and pays for a home inspection and has the right to ask for repairs. The market dictates whether it is common for sellers to make repairs or refuse to make repairs. The seller always has the option to say no to any repair request by the homebuyer. However, the buyer has the option to walk away from a contract to buy your home if they do not agree. Depend on your agent to give you guidance for answering the buyer’s repair request. If you do not like surprises, get a home inspection upfront. It may not give you all the details that the buyer’s inspection will find, but hopefully, it will give you the ‘deal killers’. The coming soon period is the perfect time to play offense with your upcoming home sale.
Another important part of introducing our home to the market is the countdown clock that we use on ComingSoonHomes.com. This feature tells the buyers how many days, hours, and minutes until the home is open for showings. We show the number of buyers that have viewed the home. Our goal is to make the number of viewers as high as possible to increase buyer interest. We get everyone on our team involved in viewing your home listing on ComingSoonHomes.com.
I’ve used our ComingSoonHomes.com (trademarked) marketing strategy for almost 20 years and know that it works in every market whether it is a buyer’s market or a sellers’ market. I’m in good company, Apple is known for keeping details about upcoming iPhone models a closely guarded secret, which generates buzz and interest leading up to the official announcement and release. Additionally, Apple uses a mix of traditional and digital marketing techniques. We employ radio ads, our websites, and multiple social media channels to promote your home as a coming soon listing.
When a homeowner hires an agent and decides to sell and market their home as a coming soon listing, there are massive financial benefits for the homeowner. You might ask, are coming soon listings a good idea? Yes! Premarketing your home as a Coming Soon listing has massive appeal in ANY market. F R E E D O M to choose how your home is marketed is essential to protect your home investment. During the past few years, Big Tech and Big Money entities have positioned themselves in all fifty states. Their power players have joined local boards throughout the US and are now making decisions that affect the home-buying and home-selling process. They often do this by restricting the marketing activities of agents, homeowners, and homebuyers. Here are some of the reasons why you want to consider ComingSoonHomes.com
There is time to circulate and build up the pool of interested buyers. All the buyers that will be interested in your home will not appear the first day your home is placed in MLS. That would be almost as good as entering the lottery and winning! At ComingSoonHomes.com it is all about making a ‘grand entrance’ to the market. It’s about building buzz and anticipation for your home. Creating anticipation and a sense of exclusivity around your new listing draws attention. Humans have an innate desire to know what lies ahead because it allows them to plan and prepare for the future.
ComingSoonHomes.com uses innate curiosity which is a common trait in all humans. It’s the information age! Individuals want to thrive by making informed decisions, avoiding potential hazards, and seize opportunities. Today’s homebuyers have access to a plethora of information. Buyers seek the newest information. You never get a second chance at a first impression. That’s as basic as you get, but a fact not to overlook.
Protect the value of the status of your home as a ‘new listing’. It is a well-known fact in the real estate industry that a new listing garners more interest from homebuyers and agents than a listing that has been on the market for a longer amount of time. What amount of time is a listing considered a ‘new listing’? it varies due to the overall market. For example, in a hot market where homes are getting multiple offers, even after a few days with no offers – agents and buyers are asking “what’s wrong with that house!’ that is extreme, but it happened here in the Triangle in the mid-2021 market and first 2 quarters of 2022. You only have one chance to be a ‘new listing’.
As a homebuyer, the most important thing to know about the real estate market is what will happen ‘next’. If homebuyers know about a home that is coming on the market in an area or neighborhood of interest, they may choose to wait and see the Coming Soon home verse making an offer on a home they are ‘settling’ for. Great real estate agents make it their business to know about their market and upcoming opportunities for their clients.
By choosing to use a pre-launch marketing campaign such as ComingSoonHomes.com, your home will generate significant interest. Homes that are immediately put in the MLS without a platform such as ComingSoonHomes.com miss the opportunity to have all the details needed for a professional presentation. This lowers the buyer pool significantly. The pre-launch period also gives time to generate virtual tours so that potential buyers can view the property from the comfort of their own homes. Lastly, this period gives the brokers time to utilize a targeted advertisement campaign such as Facebook or Google Adwords to reach the specific requirements of potential buyers.
We are a long way forward from the good days of the old Coming Soon rider on a For Sale sign! Yet I still see those signs. The coming soon sign goes nowhere in a world where everything is online. We’ve moved online to get results! Our goal is to sell your home promptly. Our goal is also to give more communication to our seller clients about how to bring the most homebuyer prospects to their home listings. We have a proven track record of successful marketing and can effectively market your home to more potential buyers than a simple MLS entry offers.
The Marti Hampton team has pioneered coming soon pre-listing marketing. We, at the Marti Hampton Team, believe in homeownership as the gateway to financial stability.
We are in the real estate business to promote and protect the right of every homeowner to secure the highest price balanced with the most sought-after terms they desire for their home sale. During the last 12 months, we continue to rank as the #1 seller of re-sale homes in Raleigh real estate. A re-sale home is anything other than a newly constructed home purchased directly from a builder.
In conclusion, a coming soon marketing campaign can be a powerful tool for both home sellers and buyers. It allows sellers to build buzz and excitement for their property before it even hits the market, and buyers to get a head start on viewing the latest listings before they are available to the general public.
By understanding the history and evolution of coming soon listings, and following the strategies and tips shared in this blog post, you can increase your chances of success. If you are looking to sell your home in the Triangle, reach out to me, Marti Hampton, a top real estate broker who has been utilizing this approach for many years.
Our team can be reached at 919-601-7710 or hello@martihampton.com. Don’t wait, take action now and let Marti Hampton help you make the most of your coming soon listing!
