Why do Sellers Pre-Market?
Pre-marketing a home has become especially popular over the last 10 years with the rise of internet marketing. During the Great Recession, sellers wanted as many buyers as possible to know that their home would soon be on the market. The goal was to get buyers to avoid committing to another home before seeing theirs. Pre-marketing was crucial for sellers because there were so many homes for sale competing for the few buyers out there.
Now that the market is moving towards a more even level of supply and demand again, pre-marketing remains a great tool to generate interest prior to the actual listing date. Pre-marketing your home can increase the number of potential buyers that know about your home. Keep in mind that pre-marketing is not always possible — it completely depends on the sellers and when the home will be ready. Realtors are limited to a maximum of 14 days of pre-marketing (see below) and sometimes there just isn’t enough time to pre-market before officially listing. Things can also get delayed if it becomes difficult to find a competitive sales price and sellers decide to wait delay committing to a price until the day before listing. It is a very individual decision that we will discuss with you.
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New Regulations
The National Association of Realtors has struggled to deal with “Coming Soon” or “pocket listings.” In 2020, they released new regulations for pre-marketing:
- The pre-marketing of a home cannot be longer than 14 days before the listing is active. Most sellers will have their home ready for active listing within this time period.
- All public marketing will have to be labeled “Coming Soon.”
- Showings or open houses are not permitted until the listing is active.
- The regulations for pre-marketing apply to but are not limited to: yard signs, flyers displayed in windows, digital marketing on public facing websites (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Zillow, Realtor.com, etc.), brokerage website displays, digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public.
- The “Coming Soon” listings only appear on the MLS and are only visible to other REALTORS®. Therefore the listings will not automatically appear on public facing websites such as Facebook, Zillow and Trulia.
Related Reading:
Steps to Sell Your Home
Preparing for the professional photos
Note: We are based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. If you are planning to sell your house in a different area, we can match you with an excellent local agent. Give us a call (719-321-0800) or email us (susanna@co-regroup.com) for a referral.
Here is how we will pre-market your property (before it is listed as active):
- Share images and promotion of your home on our very active social media pages.
- Facebook/Instagram live feeds.
- Posting walk throughs online.
- Sharing the upcoming listing in multiple online groups.
- “Coming Soon” sign in front yard to attract drive by buyers.
- Showings are not permitted until the listing is active. We will be able to set up and allow showings for first day access.
- Online presence set up with a property specific website.
Our main focus is online attraction since more than 90% of buyers are starting their search online. Our team is highly skilled in digital and social media marketing trends and will ensure optimal distribution on the internet.
Ready to sell your home or have questions about the home selling process? Call us at 719-321-0800 or email susanna@co-regroup.com.
