Curious Ques for the Realtors out there

A house down the block from me had a For Sale sign on the lawn over the weekend. I looked and looked, but couldn't find the listing online. Tuesday, the sign was gone.

The Realtor was local, and does many houses in the area, and lives in my town. So, I know she's reputable, etc., and prob wouldn't go through the motions for a homeowner to get cold feet so quick.

Any ideas on the sitch? Maybe a realtor open house, and lots of offers? Good houses go FAST here, and have multiple offers.

ETA- there did look like there was some activity there over the weekend.

Message edited 10/10/2012 8:01:52 AM.

Re: Curious Ques for the Realtors out there

Hmmm. That is odd.

If you could find the listing online, I would say maybe the homeowner did not want a yard sign, and one was mistakenly installed. For whatever reason, some sellers -- even motivated ones -- are very restistant to having a sign in their front yard.

But since you can't find the listing - I wonder if the sign was installed at the wrong house by mistake? Most real estate companies use a sign company to install the sign, and many of us use the same one. So when an agent brings in a listing in my office, we fill out a sign installation request, and the sign is ordered by our front desk. Seems like an odd mistake, but maybe someone mixed up the house number or street and installed the sign at the wrong house? If that's the case, it does usually take up to 48 hours for the company to remove the sign, which could explain why it was there for a few days.

Another possibility could be the house is coming on the market, but not yet. Sometimes if sellers are going out of town or have a scheduling issue, they will fill out all of the listing paperwork, but post-date the listing, because they want it to come out in a week, a month, etc. So maybe the sign was put up too early. But if they were planning on selling soon, in that case, you'd think they would have just left the sign.

I am sure the sign didn't come down because it sold. The signs usually stay up until closing. Once a house is in contract, the agent will usually hang an "in contract" or even "sold" sign on it... basically, it's a good advertisement for that agent and her company (they successfully sold the house), so why take it down early?

If you are really curious, I would just call the agent or her office and ask if the house is for sale (explaining that you saw a sign that is now gone, and you couldn't find the listing online).

Re: Curious Ques for the Realtors out there

thx for your response. Under normal circumstances, would say highly unlikely that it was put up at the wrong house considering it's a small town and the local nature of the realtor, but if an outside company does it- then perhaps so. Although then the sign would reappear at another house. I also did hear a rumor that one of those houses was going up for sale.

I guess time will tell! I am anxious for turn over on my block, since there aren't many kids my kids' age-- mainly school aged kids, college kids, or long time empty nesters. A ton of people just bought in another area- and everyone has all these great neighbors for easy playdates!

Message edited 10/10/2012 9:18:47 AM.