I was recently asked to review an expired Destin Florida listing. The home seller was dismayed that hardly anyone had looked at his Destin Florida house during his previous listing period. It was well priced, so that wasn’t the issue. I read through the old MLS (Multiple Listing Service) description and it was bland and generic. “Immaculate”, “must see”, and “motivated” were some of the terms used. How did that make the house stand out?
When writing an MLS description (with the help of a well-worn thesaurus) one thing I focus on is the uniqueness of a property. Here are some questions to give the description a little wow factor and ideas to tickle your creative brain – “imagine” how someone would “live” in the house. Alternatively, how does the “house” live? What are the home seller’s favorite features? What makes it unique? Of course, you can use the words “beautiful” and “lovely”, but why is the house so? Does it have an enormous deck, pergola, and hot tub in the backyard meant for sinking into each evening while being lulled by the wind in the trees? Is the kitchen edgy with its mirrored backsplash reflecting the host’s good taste? When entering the home, are your eyes teased to seek little architectural delights, like built-in wall niches? Property descriptions in the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors’ system are limited to just 800 characters in the main field. Some agents ramble on filling up entire supplements. You have to do that in a few cases, but normally, it’s not a good idea. Why? Because the internet is filled with syndications of MLS house listings sent to hundreds of websites and a potential home buyer is scanning thousands of listings. The message must get the point across fast.
Further analyzing the expired Destin listing, I noticed the biggest flaw of all. In the public remarks, it said “easy show”. That is a Realtor term, not a consumer-oriented term. And to the contrary, it was not easy to show. There was no lockbox, the listing broker stated he must accompany all showings and it reiterated “appointment only”. (The last is redundant because most listings shown in Destin are by appointment anyway.) What does that mean to a buyer’s agent? That the house is not easy to show at all. Picture this scenario – you are a buyer’s real estate agent and you receive a call from someone coming to Destin for one day to look at homes. This particular home is in the buyer’s price range and matches her desired square footage, room count and year built. The issue is there are also 15 other homes that may be suitable. Given the time frame, the buyer’s agent can select eight homes to show. Guess what? This house won’t be on the list. Why? Because it’s not easy to show!
There are myriad reasons why houses don’t sell. Price, marketing and availability are three.
It’s Wendy… It’s Sold!
Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.
Call 850-650-7883 ext 204
Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com
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