A guide to good open house signage

When you go to all the effort of holding an open for inspection on the weekend, the signage you use plays an important role in promoting and drawing traffic to your event.

After marketing the listing online, in local newspapers and to your client database, the last thing you want is nobody coming through on inspection day.

So, here are our tips for getting the most from your open house signage and maximising the potential for open house success.

At a glance a good open for inspection sign will A.I.D. (Attract, Inform and Direct) passers-by towards your open house. Follow these three steps to make the most of your open for inspection signage:

Attract

Signs need to clearly read ‘Open House’ or ‘Open for Inspection’ to avoid any confusion. You want people that pass by to easily discern that you’re holding an open for inspection that day and that you’re not simply advertising that the home is up for sale or lease. So ‘For Sale’ or ‘For Lease’ shouldn’t appear on your open house signage and be reserved for use on the sign at the front of the property.

Consider displaying the price of the home to attract more serious buyers to have a look through your open. This will also help to filter out nosy neighbours who just want to find out the price by going through and those buyers passing by who can’t afford the home.

Inform

Your open house sign should state the running time of your inspection, so buyers and renters in the area can easily plan out their day. You want to aim to get your signs set up ideally on the morning of your event, to avoid people fronting up too early, prevent sign theft and allow for passers-by to consider coming back for a look later on.

It’s also a good idea to include your name, office website and mobile number so any interested buyers that miss out on the viewing can check out your listings on your website and get in touch to arrange an alternative viewing time.

Direct

The primary purposes of your open house signs are to capture drive-by traffic and direct registered serious buyers to the property. You want to place your directional open house signs at the entry to the suburb (if there is one), then use ‘keep driving- straight ahead’ directional signs at high traffic crossroads leading to your listing and then a couple in the street itself pointing out the entry way to the property.

On the final couple of directional signs add in helium balloons for increased visibility and so buyers know they’re on the right track. Also think about adding the property address in large block letters, so passers-by know exactly which home it is and don’t go barging into neighbouring homes by accident.

Good open house signage can be the difference between a worthwhile Saturday afternoon and walking away with no leads. While we realise signs don’t directly sell a home, their position and format can definitely help to draw people in for a look and a chat. You never know when a curious neighbour could turn into your next listing or a passing dog walker might be looking to downsize.

For more ways to up your inspection game check out these five easy ways to draw more traffic to your open house.