It was right there in the entirely respectable Architectural Digest’s site: an article championing late-night stalking. Happily, it wasn’t the kind of stalking that winds up in a courtroom. The non-crime being confessed to on AD was writer Isabel Galupo’s “addiction” to late night stalking…through the real estate listings.
The author admits to not being at all ready to actually buy a house. She is terrified by the prospect of permanent roots and doesn’t even really understand how a mortgage works. Thus, her nightly browsing is strictly recreational. She can’t resist fantasizing about spacious Spanish colonials in Santa Barbara or quaint little cottages with bay views in Bar Harbor.
For some reason, it’s irresistible.
It probably won’t be surprising if Galupo’s confessional rings true for many a similarly addicted Mcdonough listing reader. I’m even sort of guilty, myself (though centering on Mcdonough listings, of course). Fortunately, I have the convenient cover of being professionally motivated. Since I develop the language for some and have reason to visit the others, I can invoke the same excuse film directors have for slipping out to a midweek movie matinee: “Don’t disturb me, please—I’m working!”
But I have to think that there really is something almost universal about being drawn to the Mcdonough listings. They certainly do attract a goodly proportion of visitors who aren’t going to buy anytime soon—or even contemplate house hunting at all. Residential listings and their virtual tours are just plain fun to gawk at, even apart from Listing Stalker Galupo’s “fantasizing about what it would be like” to live in one.
The participants in this popular pastime might best be labeled “virtual looky-loos”—but unlike their real-world counterparts, they don’t waste homeowners’ time. It’s really a harmless sport—even one with the remote possibility of turning any given hobbyist into an actual prospect. From time to time, carefully-crafted listings do make that happen!
When it’s your turn to put your home on the market, I hope you will give me a call. I’ll make sure your property’s listing draws rave reviews from all comers—most especially, the ones who will write you an offer!
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