You know that listings are important, but did you know that a single word can cost you thousands of dollars?
A recent report, Zillow Talk: Rewriting the Rules of Real Estate studied 24,000 listing and discovered that certain keywords tend to sell for more than expected.
“Bottom-tier homes described as luxurious tend to beat their expected sale price by a whopping 8.2 percent,” said the report’s authors, Spencer Rascoff and Stan Humphries.
“Top-tier homes described as captivating tend to beat theirs by 6.5 percent. That means, if your home’s estimated home value is $110,000, but your listing includes the key word ‘luxurious,’ you could pocket an extra $8,965.”
Did almost $9,000 captivate your attention? Keep reading.
Avoid Cliches. Use Emotive Words
You can do better than Realtor® cliche words like stunning, contemporary or immaculate. Also avoid using words that you mean to be positive, but may throw up red flags for the reader. Like “clean.” Because, why wouldn’t it be?
In terms of words you should work into regular rotation, the Zillow report said these words will earn you the most:
- Luxurious
- Captivating
- Impeccable
- Stainless
- Basketball
- Landscaped
- Granite
- Pergola
- Remodel
- Beautiful
- Gentle
- Spotless
- Tile
- Upgraded
- Updated
Use Your Words to Create a Virtual Tour
Paint a vivid picture in their minds, so they can see themselves living in this home. You want them to be afraid to lose this opportunity.
Mentioning a patio is good. But talking about the summer BBQs they can have is better. Notice how the word “basketball” is on the list above? It paints a nice and wholesome family image of shooting hoops together.
Dare to Stand Out
Too many Realtors® write reviews a certain way because that’s how they were taught and that’s how everyone else does it. If you’re trying to stand out, why do what everyone else is doing?
It all starts with the headline. This will be the first – and possibly only – thing they see.
“Your headline is an extremely important part of your listing because in most cases, this is literally your only shot at getting a buyer to notice you, so you’d better find a way to stand out from the crowd,” wrote real estate blogger, Seth Williams.
“Remember, you only have a split second to catch someone’s attention and engage them into clicking on your listing – so this kind of first impression is EVERYTHING… I’m not kidding!”
Think Local
Always be sure to sell the property’s proximity to local attractions, amenities, landmarks and major centers. These will almost always be at the top of the list of selling features. So include things like:
- Walking distance to (local school)
- Only minutes from (local beach)
- A short drive to (major neighboring city)
We know you’re going to do this hundreds and hundreds of times. But each listing is someone’s only one. Listings you write should be original, free of clichés and full of emotive descriptions. Remember your ads need to stand out among the rest and offer the real value and specific information people want when they click through for details.
Your printed materials should also look original and use the right key words. How are yours looking? You can update them right now by clicking here.
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