Q:Our home has been on the market for quite some time. Yesterday our salesperson changed the position of the yard sign to face in another direction. Is this a type of marketing strategy?

A:The agent's strategy is one of the oldest yet potentially most effective strategies for breathing life into stalled listings. Studies have shown that by changing the position of the yard sign, you can attract more attention to a property.

When a yard sign sits on a property for a month or more, it becomes part of the landscape of that property. This defeats the purpose of the sign which is to attract interest.

By changing both the physical location of the sign (from one corner of the property to another), as well as the direction the sign is facing, it looks new again. In fact, after changing the position of a sign, I've had potential buyers call to inquire, "When did this property go on the market? I just noticed the sign today!"

The next time you speak with your salesperson, ask him why he changed the yard sign. He may want to attract interest from local traffic that travels the side street (since most signs are initially placed facing the primary street.) In addition, be sure to point out any other potential sign locations you feel are highly visible. It could take just one person -- the right person -- seeing the sign to get your house sold.