Selling without a "For Sale" sign

[minceypie]

We are intending to put our house on the market this spring. I would prefer not to put up a "For Sale" sign as I don't like the idea of all my neighbours knowing my business and having a good virtual snoop around my house as I do every time a house on the street goes on the market.

Do "For Sale" signs do anything other than a) save buyers having to look at the house number to house when doing viewings and b) advertise the estate agency?

@PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom

We sold in the depths of a poor market a few years back with no sign. Our estate agent told us it was no issue at all in London.

It did take us quite a while to sell, but we had no problem getting viewings. We had stupid issues like people turning up and complaining there weren't enough bedrooms

We had one viewer feedback that they wanted an open plan downstairs, which we didn't have. Why view the bloody house if it's clearly not what you want or what can be done?!

We had a sign put up. Couple of hours later, a man knocking on the door, asking to look round it.
Dh said no, but without the EA. The man was convinced he could just turn up, look round the house and ask how much we were selling it for.

We declined.

We weren't allowed one, management company kept removing it 😡 We still sold though, I'm sure it doesn't make that much difference.

I never had a sales board and sold within the week of EA being allowed to open up. I lived in a cul de sac, which is of course easier in identifying the house, but also with no through traffic meant no need to advertise via a board.

I also wanted to not advertise to the street i was miving. i did tell my direct neighbour, out of courtesy.

They used to serve a purpose when houses were only advertised in newspapers and shop windows. I think agents still like them because it's very good advertising for their agency.

We sold without, I don't feel regretful of not having a board. I also didn't want to advertise to the street.

Our small estate, around 45 houses, appears to be desirable.
In the past 12 months I can think of 5 that have changed hands. None of them had a board outside.

Hi to all who have posted replies for me on this 'zombie thread' since Tuesday - I honestly didn't expect to hear any more! everything you have said is really encouraging - thank you. TBH my neighbours will probably guess what's going on as there are only 5 of them in a tiny culdesac and with 3 agents turning up one after the other to value tomorrow, even if their cars don't have advertising logos, I'm pretty sure someone will wonder or guess what's going on!!! I get on well with all of them but since I'm not definitely selling or moving just yet I don't see the point in 'worrying' people or creating questions/issues so even if I do decide to sell I won't use a board. I'm on a corner plot and a sign would be visible from the main road through our village if it was placed correctly and a lot of visitors (we're by the sea) would probably see it and be interested even if not serious, I'd only have a board if it didn't shift as quickly as I expected/wanted just to possibly encourage interest from passersby who might fancy moving here after having a holiday!!! otherwise no thank you! one reason I'd quite like to move to a different property in the same area is that my side/front garden is really public!!! and we get a lot of pedestrian and road traffic despite it being a culdesac 'spur' off a larger culdesac ... not what I expected from what I thought of as a 'quiet village' - although I knew the shop, hall and primary school were all within spitting distance!!!!! . Cheers all again from 'Silenzio'