Coming soon marketing can help generate excitement about your home while you are getting ready to put it on the market. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) has offered the Coming Soon Status since November 2018, but there is still confusion for buyers and sellers.
If your home is to be listed as Coming Soon, you will sign a listing agreement with your real estate agent/broker, and a Coming Soon Listing Authorization Form. This allows your home to appear as a new listing on the MLS, shown as Coming Soon, rather than Active.
Most Coming Soon listings have minimal photos, as the photographer won’t be scheduled until the house shows it’s best. The seller selects the date when showings will start, which is shown on the listing, and showings can be scheduled in advance for the Active date. A listing can be in the Coming Soon Status up to 21 days, which allows time to prepare your home for showings and marketing assets to be completed.
During the Coming Soon status, the property may not be shown by your agent or any other agent. Both the listing agent and selling agent could be fined $1,000 each for violating this rule, while your home is in the Coming Soon status.
If you are ready for showings before 21 days, the status can be changed to Active, and showings may start early. If you still aren’t ready for showings at 21 days, your listing can be changed to Temporarily Not Available for Showings, until you are ready to start showings and go Active, but the Coming Soon status will be dropped.
When you are ready for showings, your home will show up as an Active new listing. During the Coming Soon or Temporarily Not Available for Showing status, marketing time does not accumulate; for example, your home is marketed as Coming Soon for 21 days then it goes Active and the Days on Market starts at zero. It’s like 21 days of free marketing, while you work on your home, with no penalty!
I have several clients that want to list soon, but need to paint, pack or clean carpets. The Spring market is typically the best time to sell, and we want the buyers that are looking at the current competition to know your home will be coming on the market soon.
Many buyers are looking for a specific property, and they fear they may miss out on a listing or lose out in multiple offers. Our hope is the buyers will like our Coming Soon listing, and instead of settling for what they see on the Active market, they will wait for our Coming Soon listing.
We can market and discuss your listing with prospective buyers and agents during the Coming Soon period, we just can’t show it.
If you are a buyer, and you are receiving auto-email notifications for new listings, tell your agent to include the Coming Soon status, so you don’t miss out on what is coming.
I have had buyers make offers sight unseen on Coming Soon listings, which is allowed as long as the property is not shown until the Active date.
An experienced real estate agent can help you determine the best way to market your home, and if a Coming Soon listing is right for you.
Ask the Real Estate Agent is a weekly column by Cheryl Kempenich of Coldwell Banker Realty, who lives and offices in the Chisago Lakes Area. Submit your questions to ckempenich@cbburnet.com. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. For legal assistance consult an attorney.