One conversation I had this week reminded me how differently people view real estate marketing.

I took a new listing this past week, and the seller initially did not want a For Sale sign in the yard because the home is vacant. Someone had suggested to the seller that putting up a sign in the yard might attract the wrong attention.

I said I understood the concern, but I as a real estate professional with over 20 years’ experience I really didn’t.   So, I shared something with this home seller I’ve experienced repeatedly over the years:

Some buyers are not actively searching online at all because they have no intension on buying a home.

They are:

• driving neighborhoods, they like on weekends just for the drive

• revisiting communities they emotionally connect with

• imagining themselves there again

• or simply waiting for the “right” house to appear

In fact, I personally purchased two homes over the years because I saw a sign in the yard while driving — not because I was actively looking, I was curious.

The first house with the sign in the yard was 4 Shaw Drive Bedford NH, I called the agent from the sign, and she happened to be close by, so she came and showed it to us.  We fell in love with it and we could afford it, so we bought it with no concerns of selling our other home. The second house with the sign in the yard was in Hunter’s Isle in Hunter’s Creek Orlando, this time the both of us were already real estate agents but we were just going for a drive, never being in Hunter’s Isle we were just curious of the community. As we drove through, we were impressed, saw the sign in a home that looked very impressive to us and called the agent. We saw it, fell in love with it, and bought it with no concerns of selling our other home in Hunter’s Creek. We had no intensions of buying another home, we’ve owned 5 homes so far in our lifetime, and 2 of them were the result of seeing a For Sale sign in the front yard.

That emotional connection is real.

As Realtors®, we sometimes focus heavily on digital marketing (which absolutely matters), but physical visibility still plays the most important role in many home sales.

A simple sign can:

✔ attract local move‑up buyers

✔ capture buyers already vacationing nearby which is very important in the Disney World area

✔ create neighborhood conversations

✔ generate unexpected calls

✔ and sometimes reach people who never planned to buy until they saw the right home in the right location

Especially here in Central Florida near Disney, many second‑home and vacation‑home buyers spend time physically driving around the area of interest way before making a decision.

Real estate is still emotional; how often do you drive your favorite neighborhood?

The buyer who purchases your home wasn’t searching online that day — they may have simply went for a drive in their favorite area of town, saw the For Sale sign, asked a few questions and connected with it.

Jane LaFrance

Realty Hub LLC | Realtor®

MickeyHomes LLC

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