Write it Right! Make Your Ads Work for You!

Who thought that adjectives could help you sell your home? In listing your California Foreclosures you could get more than $12,000 more on a $250,000 if you list your house as “beautiful” instead of as “move in condition.” The study done by a real estate economist in Canada states that properties describes as “beautiful” sell for an increase of 5%, while the term “move in condition” has no effect on the sale price. The economist studied almost 20,000 listed houses as well as sales data in counties in Ontario from 1997 to 2000. They examined how different phrases in listings affected sale prices, as well as how long it took the houses to close.

Using the words “beautiful” and “gorgeous” can sell a home 15% faster, and the term “landscaping” sped up a sale by almost 20%. When a property was described as in “move in condition” it hastened the sale by 12%. If you are looking to list a home that needs a little work, be sure to list it as a “handyman special” as this could cut your sale time in half.

Surprisingly, familiar terms such as “vacant” or “must see” had no effect on how quickly a house sold.

It appears that houses move the slowest when a little desperation is used in the description as in terms “motivated” and “must sell.” Research showed that these terms and others like it slowed house sales by 30%. Adding the term “ranch” into the description of your Florida Foreclosures can slow your sale by 10%, and properties that are listed as rentals took an additional 60% longer to sell.

While every homeowner and real estate agent has different key words they would use to describe a house, there are some that should go in every ad. According to a real estate agent in California, the magic phrase is “The best buy in town”-this realtor has sold every single listing that she listed with this catchphrase.

Amazingly enough, some words not only affected how quickly a house sold, but also the price it sold for. If a home is described as “beautiful” it is expected to sell for a higher price.

Now this doesn’t mean that these catchphrases and words will instantly sell your home. The words have to correctly describe your home, and the right price must go along with your words. The listing price is the single most important message that the seller can give to the buyer.

This study simply shows that words that are used accurately and smartly can help show off your home in a ad listing. While the word “beautiful” appears to make a house sell faster, if you use the term incorrectly you can offend buyers and it will work against you (for example if you have the ugliest house on the block, don’t use the work “beautiful” to describe it….lets be honest with ourselves here folks!). The main idea is to advertise your Ohio Foreclosures so they are appealing to buyers, and allow buyers to get an accurate picture of your home from an ad that will encourage them to come see your house for themselves.