Have you ever looked at a home ad and wondered what effect it would have on the buying public, or their Realtor searching for the perfect property for their cllient?
Thinking, why would you tell someone about "new paint" or "clean"
Some studies have been made.
For example, a Canadian professor, as part of a broader study on real estate sales patterns, found that homes where the seller was "motivated'' actually took 15 percent longer to sell, while houses listed as "handyman specials'' flew off the market in half the average time. (Yet another researcher said the price was significantly lower, see below)
"It surprised even me,'' said researcher Paul Anglin, who teaches real estate and housing trends at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. The study dissected the wording of more than 20,000 Canadian home listings from 1997 to 2000.
Those findings echo those made in a 2000 paper called ``Real Estate Agent Remarks: Help or Hype?'' researched by University of Texas finance and real estate Professor Ronald C. Rutherford.
Rutherford found, among other things, that buyers read between the lines. If you can't find anything better to say than ``new paint,'' perhaps it's best to say nothing at all.
Positive and factually verifiable comments such as ``golf'' or ``lake'' drew increased sales prices; other presumably positive comments regarding new paint or new carpet brought lower ones.
``What you say needs to be extravagant,'' Rutherford said, ``or the signal that is received by buyers is that it's not worth talking about.''
But what do sellers know? ``New paint'' appeared on 15 percent of the listings and was the most commonly listed comment.
Rutherford said sellers would be best served by a listing with ``just the facts, ma'am.''
``In today's market,'' he said, ``if it's a good deal, you need to convey it with factually verifiable language.''
An example: ``Needs repairs,'' he said.
Of the information from his study, conducted between 1994 and 1997 of almost 60,000 closed residential transactions in Tarrant County, Texas, what surprised him most?
That homes with ``motivated'' sellers stayed on the market 15 percent longer than average and sold for 4 percent less.
His theory: ``They overpriced the house to start with and eventually had to lower it. That explains the length of time on the market and the lower sales price.''
Does he have any advice for today's sellers? Learn more…
Leave us your thoughts about this story. Do you think words really matter in an ad?
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