No More 'For Sale' Signs On Homes In This Connecticut Town
NEW CANAAN, Conn. (CBSNewYork) – 'For Sale' signs will soon be a thing of the past on homes in New Canaan, Connecticut.
A six-month trial ban starts July 1, meaning those signs you see in front of houses will have to be taken down.
The New Canaan Board of Realtors voted in favor of the ban, saying prospective home buyers aren't driving around town anymore. Instead, they're researching online.
"Most people recognize they're not really contributing to the sale of the home," said Joe Scozzafava, a realtor at William Raveis. "With the buyers that we're dealing with, who are mostly millennials, who are very tech-savvy."
The board also said the signs take away from the beauty of New Canaan and the rest of Connecticut.
"I find it to be a little tacky and it doesn't look so great," homeowner Priscilla Rossi said.
"The amount of them is giving buyers an idea that this entire town is for sale," said resident Shawn Gardner.
But not everyone agrees with eliminating the signs all together and enjoy their subtle appeal.
"They're not super advertising companies," Rachel Palacios said.
"I think they're nice to know what's going on," said Jenny Goldstein.
Ron Marks said he wouldn't have found his dream home without a lawn sign.
"It had a generic for sale sign by broker, with a phone number, which I called, followed up on and ended up buying the house," he said.
The board said it has been talking about the ban for years, evening thinking it may become a trend.
"There are already sellers who request no signs in front of their homes because they don't think it adds to the beauty," said Lori Kelly, executive officer of the New Canaan Board of Realtors.
Once the ban is over, they'll see whether it helped or hurt the local real estate market. It the pilot succeeds, they may try to make it permanent.
The board said a similar ban has been working in nearby Greenwich.