Those who sneer at the humble estate agents For Sale Board and dismiss it as ‘visual pollution’ are guilty of a gross misunderstanding and the sellers/landlords of marketed properties maybe the victims here, not just the agents.
Boards cheap and effective
Let’s put it this way, the estate agent’s board is the cheapest and most effective marketing tool in the agent’s armoury. Its incredible commercial potency is underestimated by the consumer and absurdly, even by some estate agents.
I have spent the best part of 50 years in this business trying to persuade some clients to switch on their brains and embrace the huge potential of this simple device and sometimes, I believe that the ‘doubting Thomases’ are guilty of over thinking a problem.
By way of illustration, at least a third of the market comprises latent purchasers/tenants. By this I mean, applicants who have not yet registered themselves on estate agents mailing lists, nor on-line property portals.
However, their bricks’n’mortar juices often start to flow once they see a For Sale Board on their usual travels and this is the only way an estate agent can get hold this enquiry.
Here’s how the system works
A prospective applicant may be walking or driving through an area, and they see a board outside a property. They are invariably relaxed and if they are in the mood to buy or rent, it prompts them to call the agent. Once they are told the price and are sent the particulars by email, a great deal of the ‘tissue typing’ process will have already taken place before they have even crossed the threshold of the property.
This is an absolute gift for both seller and agent alike, as it saves them many fruitless hours of hustling and cajoling. Thanks to the board, this is an enquiry that can easily be converted into a deal, which otherwise may not have taken place at all.
English custom of social anxiety
However, there is the quaint English custom of social anxiety i.e., the seller or landlord feels that a board ‘violates’ their all-important privacy as the neighbours may not yet know that they could be moving. To the homeowner, it’s the equivalent of ‘flashing one’s knickers in public’. This is a misnomer and I call it ‘Jackson Pollocks’ (at least it rhymes with it).
The mere sight of a stranger clutching sales particulars, accompanied by a sharp-suited estate agent, will trigger the interest of the curtain-twitching neighbour that the owner may be selling or renting their home without the need to alert them in advance. So, if they are going to know anyway, why deny yourself a very potent marketing asset?
Without a board, not only do you lose out on the wider access to the market, but this may mean a lower value on your largest, tax free, capital asset, which could cost you dear!
I can’t tell you how many times a resident in an area has said to me that if they had known that a certain property was on the market, due to a For Sale Board outside, they may have been interested in buying it. You could say, ‘it wasn’t, and they didn’t’, but the owner could have got a better price… you never know.
The point being, we like our clients, after the deal has been done, to nurse that warm feeling of satisfaction that when they lock the front door for the last time, nothing, I repeat, nothing, could have been done by Glentree to get better terms and without a board, this cannot be said.
Another benefit is when the property goes under offer, the buyer or prospective tenant, will be concerned that the board will increase competition for them and this will certainly keep everyone on their toes, until the deal is finally consummated by an exchange of contracts.
Westminster Council’s Claims
Westminster Council are misguided by claiming that most applicants start their journey on-line and therefore, the boards are redundant. This is simply not the case since they help to drive the applicants to the portals.
An estate agents board is relatively modest in size now and is no different to the usual sign of a landscape gardener or an architect working on a particular re-development project and therefore, why should estate agents be penalised?
I think the bodies that determine these matters in the corridors of power, within the councils, need to get out more and then perhaps the unrealistic decision-making processes may be better considered.