There’s been a lot of talk about signage lately. There are towns in my County that don’t let Brokerages put up any For Sale signs. There are some towns where you cannot state the name of the Brokerage; instead it needs to say FOR SALE BY BROKER. And, there are some towns that regulate how large the sign can be- in one instance, there is a town that will allow the sign to be 1 sq.ft., so many Brokerages end up with a sign that is 12 inches by 12 inches. This same town also has many streets that are considered “double yellow line roads.” Try reading a sign like that if you’re driving by with tons of traffic behind you and nowhere to pull over.
All of this has made me pay much more attention to signage in my hometown where my Brokerage is located. Recently, I have noticed that my town seems to be having a “war of the signs” if you will. They are everywhere! By this, I don’t mean that there is a lot of inventory. Instead, one property can have multiple signs on it.
Yesterday I drove by two homes that were for sale and are right next door to each other. Each was listed by a different Brokerage, and each had a For Sale sign. For whatever reason, one of the agents decided to put up another sign on the same property. Now, one house has two For Sale signs. As I was driving by this morning, guess what I saw? The other Broker, not wanting to be outdone, also placed two For Sale signs on the property.
Two homes and four For Sale signs. Oh boy.
I would like you to understand, these homes are not on lots any larger than a quarter of an acre, at most. The homes here all have small lot sizes.
Even more surprising, the town has no regulations as to how many For Sale signs can be placed on one property, nor any rules about size or placement.
Although I appreciate the fact that my town is less regulatory about signage than others, I am afraid that this behavior by other Brokerages will lead to the creation of such rules if they continue to get out of hand.
It is quite surprising to be in a town like mine, where oftentimes the behavior is like that of a home owner’s association, and realize that signage is not closely controlled and monitored. I would hate to see this new trend lead to a war breaking out amongst certain Brokerages that would ruin it for the rest of us.
It is also hard to understand why a homeowner would even approve of having multiple signs on their property in the first place. But if they see other Brokerages doing it, they might feel the pressure to compete with their neighbor.
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