Dec. 21, 2007: Time of the signs: Let there be light -- for real estate signs, that is
We've been playing with sign lights.
Signs matter. If you're trying to sell your home, the yard sign just might swing the balance. A whopping 63% of home buyers discover homes they're interested in seeing from yard signs, and the sign can be the first "salesman" for the home in one out of every six home sales.
Our signs are custom-made for each home we list, with big photos of the interior of the home. The idea is to swing the balance toward our sellers by whatever means we can think of.
But I cannot imagine a more profound enemy of custom real estate signs than darkness. During the day, you can spot the signs, see the photos, read the copy. At night, our signs, like all real estate signs, are silhouettes against the void.
So we've been looking for lighting systems that will extend the hours our signs are visible -- from twilight to 9 pm at least, although all night would be ideal.
Our first swing at the ball is a device called the Listing Light. It uses six C-cell batteries to set two light-emitting diodes ablaze. It actually works in the sense that the signs seem to be aglow from a distance, and they are completely readable up close. But the effect is a lot like reading by flash-light -- doable, but not to be preferred.
My friend Teri Lussier, a Realtor in Dayton, Ohio, has set her husband loose on the problem of lighting signs. His first invention builds the lights into the underside of the crossbar of the sign post. By now, he's playing with the idea of building a box composed of two translucent signs with fluorescent tubes inside, much like a commercial sign.
I like what ground-mounted flood lights do for a home, so I'd like to make a deal with a seller to get an electrician to illuminate the home, building in two additional flood lights for our signs. This would not be cheap -- but as our massive unsold inventory makes plain -- cheap efforts don't get the job done.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
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