1. Define what “coming soon” means for this property
Teams often use the same phrase for different conditions: internal production, one-to-one seller-authorized communication, a local MLS status, a delayed public-marketing option, or a fully public teaser campaign. Those conditions are not interchangeable. Name the actual path before writing copy or choosing channels.
| Condition | What is happening | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| Private preparation | The team is verifying facts, preparing the property, and producing assets | Drafting or uploading privately gives permission to publish |
| Local coming-soon status | The listing uses a specific status made available under local MLS rules | The status, duration, visibility, showing rules, or DOM treatment match another MLS |
| Delayed public marketing | A locally available process delays defined consumer-facing distribution | Every public, brokerage, IDX, VOW, syndication, or one-to-one use is treated alike |
| Office exclusive or other exemption | A specific seller decision and MLS or brokerage process may limit distribution | “Exclusive” means the property may be advertised publicly without consequences |
| Public coming-soon campaign | Property marketing reaches public channels before the active launch | A teaser, sign, broad email, or social post falls outside public-marketing rules |
NAR's current Assessing “Coming Soon” Listings checklist says that coming soon is a marketing strategy, not a nationally defined MLS status, and that local MLS rules determine available statuses and restrictions. Use the official current source and the responsible local rule—not an old campaign, another agent's practice, or a generic template.
2. Complete the listing and local-rule review before choosing channels
Route this review through the broker or other responsible owner. Record the source, version or effective date, decision, and reviewer so production knows what may be prepared and what may be released. This general checklist is not a substitute for reviewing the actual requirements.
Property: [approved property identity]
Listing agreement status: [responsible record / date / reviewer]
Seller decision and disclosure: [responsible record / option / date / reviewer]
Local MLS: [name / current rule source / effective date or access date]
Available status or exemption: [exact local name / conditions / duration]
Submission or filing dependency: [condition / owner / deadline]
Public-marketing boundary: [permitted / not permitted / conditional / examples reviewed]
Showing or tour rule: [permitted condition / prohibited / unknown and blocked]
IDX, VOW, syndication, and display: [current treatment]
DOM and price-history treatment: [current local treatment]
Brokerage, association, jurisdiction, and brand review: [sources / reviewer / decision]
Go/no-go decision: [prepare privately / permitted campaign / active-only launch / stop]
NAR's MLS Clear Cooperation Policy page states that, under the model policy, a listing broker must submit a property to the MLS for cooperation within one business day of marketing it to the public. Local mandatory submission deadlines, locally adopted options, listing type, exemptions, and enforcement still require current local review. Do not turn the national summary into a universal campaign timer.
3. Document the seller decision and the campaign boundary
Explain the available routes in plain language using the current responsible materials. Record what the seller approved, which benefits or limitations were discussed as required, which destinations are in scope, and what must happen before release. Keep the formal decision in the proper system; give the marketing team only the operational boundary it needs.
| Decision | Record precisely | Why production needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation | Which photos, copy, video, page, email, print, and social assets may be drafted | Draft permission is narrower than publication permission |
| Release | Which destinations may publish, under what exact condition and status | Prevents a scheduler or teammate from treating every finished asset as live |
| Property access | Whether showings, tours, previews, events, or appointments are permitted | Keeps the CTA aligned with actual availability |
| Distribution | Public, MLS-participant, internal, one-to-one, IDX, VOW, syndication, and paid boundaries | “Share” can mean materially different audiences and systems |
| Change | Who can pause, revise, activate, or cancel the campaign and how quickly | Scheduled assets must follow the current property state |
The listing intake form template gathers the property facts, media permissions, approvals, and lifecycle triggers needed to support this boundary without copying sensitive or formal records into each creative tool.
4. Prepare assets without accidentally publishing them
Private preparation can reduce launch-day scrambling, but production systems often include public links, automatic notifications, share defaults, connected social accounts, or indexing. Use a controlled workspace and test the actual visibility of every staging destination.
Verified property source: facts, dates, definitions, open conflicts, and reviewer
Media readiness: property preparation, access, capture, delivery, rights, labels, and review
Listing copy: draft public remarks and destination adaptations from approved facts
Photo order: select a truthful lead and coherent room sequence
Video: storyboard, source media, narration, text, music, versions, and approval
Property page: nonpublic draft, access controls tested, indexing and sharing reviewed
Email: audience, sender, subject, body, CTA, suppression, and send condition
Social: post copy, media, alt text, destination, safe crop, and release condition
Print and signage: copy, codes, URLs, installation or distribution owner, and release condition
Response route: contact owner, approved answer, access state, and escalation
Label working files DRAFT — NOT APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION and include the property, version, owner, status, and last review date in the file or project record. Do not use a public teaser URL as a convenient review link. A preview that is technically reachable, indexed, shared, or sent outside the authorized group may not be private in the way the team assumes.
5. Build a conditional production and release calendar
Plan backward from the dependable active date, but make every public action conditional on the approved status and rule check. The calendar should still work if photography moves, a fact conflict appears, the seller changes direction, the property is not ready, or the listing date shifts.
| Phase | Private production | Conditional release |
|---|---|---|
| Source lock | Reconcile facts, rights, access, seller decision, and rule path | No public release |
| Property readiness | Complete agreed preparation and media brief | Only communications the approved route permits |
| Asset production | Create photography, copy, video, page, email, social, and print drafts | Publish nothing merely because an asset is finished |
| Preflight | Approve facts, versions, links, status, access, branding, rights, and response path | Release only if the named condition is met and the channel is permitted |
| Active switch | Confirm current listing record and live destinations | Replace coming-soon language, CTAs, dates, and access state everywhere |
| Maintenance | Monitor material changes and scheduled items | Pause, revise, or remove stale assets promptly |
Asset: [file, post, page, email, sign, ad, or other]
Destination and audience: [exact account, URL, list, placement, or location]
Required status: [exact approved local or campaign condition]
Release condition: [documented decision / filing / date / approval / dependency]
Publisher: [one named person]
Verification: [live check / time / evidence]
Switch or removal trigger: [active / date / property change / seller decision / cancellation]
Backup owner: [person who can pause it]
6. Use copy that matches the permitted status and next step
Write the public copy only after the campaign route is cleared. Use bracketed fields so a template cannot be mistaken for a current property representation. Confirm the exact status language, availability, date, destination, property facts, brand requirements, and required disclosures immediately before release.
Conditional coming-soon social post template
Release only when the named public campaign is permitted.
Coming soon: [property type or approved property identity] in [verified location label]. [One specific, verified feature] is the first part of the story; [second visible feature or accurate context] completes the preview.
[Accurate current availability or launch statement permitted by the applicable process]. View current information at [approved destination] or [permitted next step].
[Required brokerage, status, media, or advertising language]
Conditional agent or database email template
Subject: Coming soon · [verified property identity] · [current permitted next step]
Hi [name],
[Property identity] is expected to [accurate approved launch statement]. The available media shows [verified visible feature] and [verified visible feature].
Current information: [approved property page, contact route, or other permitted destination]. [Accurate showing, tour, preview, event, or notification statement—or omit it].
[Required brokerage, status, media, or advertising language]
[Approved signature]
Private production note
DRAFT — NOT APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION
Property: [internal identity]
Working status: [private preparation / fact review / media review]
Public release: blocked until [named condition and owner]
Current open issues: [facts / rights / media / date / rule / seller decision]
Keep all audience language property-first. HUD's Fair Housing Advertising guidance describes federal criteria used in evaluating housing advertising. Apply the current brokerage, jurisdiction, MLS, and platform review to the exact text, media, audience, and placement.
7. Switch every asset from coming soon to active
The active launch is a state change, not merely another post. Confirm that the listing is in the intended current status and the approved public destinations are working, then update or remove every prelaunch promise. A stale “coming soon” CTA can misstate access, availability, event timing, or the route to current property information.
Source of truth: current status, price, property facts, date, access, and responsible reviewer
MLS and feeds: correct status, data, media, links, branding, and permitted distribution
Property page: active copy, current CTA, indexability, forms, analytics, and mobile review
Email: coming-soon sequence stopped; active message uses current links and availability
Social: scheduled teasers canceled or revised; profile links and pinned content updated
Video: title, narration, on-screen text, caption, thumbnail, and CTA remain accurate
Print and signs: installation, riders, dates, QR destinations, removal, and condition verified
Response team: current showing, event, property-detail, and escalation answers supplied
Seller: live links, completed assets, known gaps, and next reporting checkpoint confirmed
The just-listed video template provides a property-first 15- and 30-second active-launch structure. The new-listing email template covers audience-specific launch messages and link checks.
8. Audit, cancel, and archive the campaign
One person should be able to see every drafted, scheduled, live, replaced, and removed asset. Keep an inventory by destination and assign a backup who can stop publication. If the seller changes direction, the property is delayed, a required approval is missing, or a material fact changes, pause the affected campaign before rewriting it.
| Asset | Record | Closeout proof |
|---|---|---|
| Page or listing destination | URL, visibility, version, status, owner, last review | Updated live page, redirect, access change, or removal check |
| Email or message | Audience, send or schedule state, copy version, links, owner | Cancellation record, sent record, or corrected follow-up |
| Social or paid placement | Account, post or ad ID, schedule, audience, destination, owner | Live revision, canceled schedule, paused placement, or archive |
| Video or image | File, title, caption, embedded text, rights, destinations | Replacement map and removal or retention decision |
| Print or signage | Quantity, location, copy, code or URL, install and removal owner | Physical verification and disposal or archive record |
Archive the approved rule review, seller decision reference, fact record, asset versions, publication evidence, status switch, corrections, and closeout. Reusing an old coming-soon campaign for another property should begin with a new rule and fact review, not a duplicated schedule.
Prepare the property video before the permitted release
Once the listing photos, property facts, rights, and approvals are ready, Westby can turn them into a listing-specific cinematic preview before purchase. Keep the preview private until the campaign's publication condition is met, then connect the approved version to the current property destination and lifecycle plan.
Create a free listing-video preview.
Frequently asked questions
What does coming soon mean in real estate?
There is no single national MLS definition. NAR describes coming soon as a marketing strategy rather than a nationally defined MLS status, while local MLSs determine available statuses and restrictions. Confirm the current listing agreement, brokerage process, local MLS rules, and public-marketing plan for the specific property.
Can an agent post a coming soon listing on social media?
Only after confirming that the post and timing are permitted by the applicable listing agreement, seller decision, brokerage policy, local MLS rules, NAR MLS policy as applicable, fair-housing review, media rights, and platform requirements. A social post can be public marketing, so do not treat it as a harmless draft or private preview.
Can buyers tour a coming soon listing?
Do not assume they can. Local MLS coming-soon or similar statuses may have specific showing or tour restrictions, and brokerage and seller instructions also matter. Publish only the access and availability that the responsible current process permits.
How long should a coming soon campaign run?
There is no universal duration. The available local status, filing and marketing rules, seller decision, property-readiness plan, media schedule, and active date control the window. Use the shortest useful production calendar that meets the approved strategy and applicable requirements; do not invent a countdown before the launch date is dependable.