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The Weston housing market needs a boost, and real estate agent Kathleen O'Connell has an idea that she thinks could help.
On Monday, Jan. 24, O'Connell will ask the Planning and Zoning Commission to consider allowing name riders on for sale signs. The riders would include the name and phone number of the listing agent. Currently, the signs give the name and number of the agency only.
"All of our neighboring towns not only allow name riders, but most have much larger real estate signs," O'Connell said. "We are putting our homeowners at a disadvantage by not equally marketing their properties, especially when buyers are often looking in multiple towns at one time."
The way the signs work now, if a potential buyer calls after hours, the agent won't be able to contact the person until the next business day, O'Connell said. "If this potential buyer is from out of town, they may not have an opportunity to get back here for awhile, and that becomes a missed opportunity to sell the home faster."
OConnell said Weston properties sit on the market longer than the average home in Fairfield County and in Connecticut and this can affect values. "Name riders would make homes more easily accessible, because the listing agent could be reached at any time, to make the property available to show."
The change OConnell suggests would require a zoning amendment repealing a 2001 decision that outlawed name riders for aesthetic reasons.
OConnell is asking residents and real estate agents to attend the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on Monday, Jan. 24, at the Annex building on School Road at 7:15 p.m.
What do you think? Should Weston homes be allowed to post name riders on "for sale" signs? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.
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