Words that Sell Homes - Long Beach Real Estate

Sticks and stone will break my bones but words will never hurt me!

Really?  Are you certain?  OK, let's re-think that for a moment. 

Has your Long Beach home been sitting on the market for a while?  Not getting a good response to your advertising?  Maybe it needs a little punch. Ann Brenoff of the Los Angeles Times put together an article a while back which may come in handy. 

If you use the words "Motivated Seller" your home will take 15% longer to sell and will net 4% less: "Good Value" will net 5% less. 

Homes described as "Beautiful" sell 15% faster and net 5% more in price than the norm.  "Handyman Special" sold in half the average time. 

However, if you use words that indicate "Curb Appeal" or indicate that the home is attractive the days on market are decreased; speaking of "Value" or "Price" will increase the days on market. 

These discoveries were made by Canadian professor, Paul Anglin who teaches real-estate and housing trends at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, during a study of sales patterns while utilizing the wording of over 20,000 Canadian home listings. 

Professor Anglin further discovered that buyers place style over substance. 

When the "Landscaping" of a listing was presented homes sold 20% faster.  "Move In Condition" resulted in 12% shorter stay on the market, but had no effect on the sale price.

Use of terms "Foreclosure", "As-is", and "Handyman Special" netted much lower sale prices.  While use of "Granite", "Maple" and "Gourmet" all netted higher sales prices. 

Professor Rutherford, finance and real-estate professor of the University of Texas found, in a 2000 study that "What you say needs to be extavagant, or the signal that is received by buyers is that it's not worth talking about."  He further said that sellers would be best served by just stating the facts. 

Posted on August 01, 2008 04:09:43 by Laurie.Manny

Comment from: Phyllis Harb [Visitor] · http://los-angeles-real-estate-blog.com

I loved the original article and your post.

"When the "Landscaping" of a listing was presented homes sold 20% faster. "Move In Condition" resulted in 12% shorter stay on the market, but had no effect on the sale price."

I wonder how much effect the words have versus how much that buyer prefer well landscaped move in condition homes. What are your thoughts?

Permalink August 01, 2008 21:07:48

Comment from: Laurie.Manny [Member] · http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.com

Hi Phyllis,

I agree and wondered the same thing myself.  Most buyers are looking for homes in as near perfect condition as posssible with as little cash after purchase outlay.  A beautifully landscaped home is not only very appealing, landscaping, done well, is very expensive.  What a nice bonus to have it at time of purchase.

Permalink August 01, 2008 22:52:27

Comment from: Ted Mackel [Visitor] · http://www.homebuysblog.com

Lauire,

 

Just goes to show you can learn something new every day.  Thanks for sharing.  Now I need to go see if I have any faux pauxs in my marketing comments.

-Ted

Permalink August 04, 2008 13:59:42

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