An excerpt from the all-new SIGN·AGE Magazine. The Strange COVID-19 Real Estate Market: How YOU Can Capitalize.
By Rob Perl
An interesting fact caught my attention as I was browsing our sales data the other day: real estate signage sales were up, surpassing last year’s figures. This surprised me; are people really moving now?
We all know that when the coronavirus hit, stay-at-home orders were, well, the order of the day. The real estate market, like many others, was severely affected. But home sales are now picking back up, surprisingly surpassing even pre-pandemic levels. Compared to June, homeowners have been able to sell 24.7% more houses this July, and counting the climb of closings on an annual basis, this year we are up 10.5% more than last year per the National Association of Realtors’ August report.
The market rebound is likely due to the trend of people moving out of cities and into suburbs.
These statistics made me wonder: What more can you, our customers, do to capitalize on this?
So, I asked Yerachmeal Jacobson, co-founder of Bluejay Management, a privately-owned, New York-based, real estate investment and management firm, what he uses to help sell or rent properties. “We have never before relied so much on signage to push our sales,” he said.
Signage is not only used to make listings more visible; realtors also use it to help ensure safety. “The key to success is in making sure our customers feel safe,” Jacobson said.
To keep customers comfortable, knowing that their safety won’t be compromised, realtors are turning to solutions such as self-guided tours, where the agent stays outside, minimizing risky interaction. Such tours are made possible through abundant use of signage, including inside the home.
The following is a list of four ways Jacobson is using signage and print services to boost sales and ensure safe in-person showings.
Take a look at the list and then reach out to your local real estate customers and let them know what quality signage can do for them.
1. LAWN STAKES
Check out our two newest stakes featured in this spread. While these types of signs have always been a mainstay of the real estate market, these days, they are more important than ever, because there are a lot more eyes looking out for them. In this era, lawn stakes should communicate
the availability of self-guided tours, in addition to the usual information.
2. A-FRAME SIGNS
We recommend suggesting to your real estate customers to customize these signs with specific information per listing so they have more exposure and you get more orders.
3. HAND SANITIZER
An essential part of a broker’s job is making sure the place looks its best before each showing. In today’s environment that goes beyond fluffing up cushions and sweeping the floor. Prepping a place now involves additional steps like deep cleaning and disinfecting. Buyers can also do their part by sanitizing their hands before and after their tour. Offer your realty customer custom branded stickers for hand sanitizer bottles.
4. EASLES
Easels provide information in a novel, museum-exhibit-like style which allows for social distancing and keeps the buyer informed.
Rob Perl is editor-in-chief of the Sign·Age magazine. His mission is to find the latest and greatest trends in the industry and share them with our customers so they can maximize their profits. Feel free to contact him for advice. He can be reached by phone at 718-399-3333, extension 280, or by email at [email protected].