Signs of the times

In good and bad real estate markets you will see “For Sale” signs around your neighborhood whether you are a city dweller or you live somewhere well off the beaten path. These signs are one of the most important tools in a real estate agent’s marketing tool kit. Even though the Internet and referrals from real estate agents are the top two ways people find the properties they eventually buy, signs are the third most effective way to reach those buyers.

In a brisk market as we have enjoyed the past couple of years in North Idaho, many new agents get their licenses so they may cash in. Quickly they discover the expenses involved in becoming a successful agent. First of all there is fuel. Thankfully, fuel prices are a bit lower in this good real estate market so the new agents aren’t experiencing the $3-4 a gallon gas of recent memory but it is still an expense.

Of course, if you are going to be noticed you need to get your name — or your face — out there. That costs money too. Business cards are relatively inexpensive but print advertising, website design, implementation, hosting and maintenance are all additional expenses before an agent usually begins to earn a modest income. Most agents will invest in mailing lists and postage to blanket neighborhoods or to target a certain demographic in an attempt to gain listings and that too, costs money.

Once an agent is successful in obtaining a listing for their brokerage the expenses increase some. Certainly it is in the agent and brokerage’s best interest to advertise for name and face recognition but now there is a specific property attached to the advertisement. That usually requires more words than an agent might use to promote themselves so the cost of that advertisement is likely to increase. Of course the property has to be easy to find so the agent must print some signs.

Not only do signs show the seller you are actively marketing their property, they give cooperating agents an easy way to identify which property in a specific area is yours. Even though most folks will scour the Internet for available properties there is a large number of them that will hop in their car and take a County tour before contacting an agent. That is where signs come into play and may call attention to your listing that the prospective buyer may have missed or dismissed, in their Internet search.

These signs average about $30 each. On top of that, there needs to be a device from which to suspend the sign such as a post with a yard arm. Wooden posts can be built with a modicum of skill so an agent may only be out the cost of lumber, paint and labor to create a reliable utility from which to hang their sign. All told they maybe into the signage at this point for less than $100. Now the sign and post need to be installed. Whether they do it themselves or hire someone, the installation also has a cost.

Now here is the rub. Theft. No, really. People actually steal real estate signs! Some less ambitious merely vandalize the sign. Many vandals will tear the signs down and throw them into the ditch or onto a neighboring property and others will carefully remove all trace and put them in their trash to be taken to the landfill. This drives up the cost of marketing for the agent, the seller and ultimately the buyer.

Most local governments actually consider removal or defacing of a properly placed real estate sign a misdemeanor. Our conversation with a local city attorney confirmed that a police report will be taken and charges may be filed against anyone who can be proven to have tampered with such a sign. We agents and professional installers are careful to put our signs in the governing rights of way. Although technically, this may be your land — meaning you pay taxes on it and are responsible for its maintenance — the city, county or highway district actually governs its use.

If you see a new sign in your neighborhood and question its legality please call the agent or brokerage whose name appears upon it. If you tear it down your are defeating your neighbor’s efforts to sell, you are driving up the costs of that sale and you could well be prosecuted for taking matters into your own hands.

Trust an expert…call a Realtor. Call your Realtor or visit www.cdarealtors.com to search properties on the Multiple Listing Service or to find a Realtor member who will represent your best interests.

Kim Cooper is a real estate broker and the spokesman for the Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors. Kim and the Association invite your feedback and input for this column. You may contact them by writing to the Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors, 409 W. Neider, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815 or by calling (208) 667-0664.