Northwest Living | Bellingham Real Estate Market

 The words that are used to market your home matter in a big way.  Who ever said, “Choose your words wisely”, wasn’t just saying it because it sounded good.  After all, wars have been fought over the wrong choice of words.  Even civilizations have collapsed because of them.  And it appears that your success with which your home sells may be determined by the use of the right words.

One recent study of sales patterns showed that homes marketed with the words “motivated” actually took 15% longer to sell, while homes listed as “handyman specials” sold in half the time. The same study, where 20,000 words were looked at in home listings from 1997 to 2000, found that the buyers put style over substance.  Words like “curb appeal” or general attractiveness helped sell a home faster than words about value and price.

Homes described as “beautiful” moved 15% faster and for 5% more in price than the benchmark. “Good-value” homes sold for 5% less than average.

Here’s one I won’t be using anytime soon, the plea of “must see”.   That got about as much play as a telemarketer at dinner time. Homes with listings using the words “must see” had a no impact at all on the number of days they took to sell.

Listings where the word “landscaping” was heralded sold 20% faster, and homes in “move-in condition” took 12% less time to sell than the benchmark, although the study showed “move-in condition” had an insignificant impact on the sales price.

Owners use listing language to convey how serious they are about selling. The study found that listings in which the seller said he or she was “moving” sold for 1% less in price compared to 8% less when the seller was “motivated.”

Descriptions of houses that indicated an obvious problem — such as “foreclosure,” “as-is” and “handyman special” — drew substantially lower sales prices. Words that suggested more desirable attributes of the house — “granite,” “maple,” “gourmet” — translated into a higher sale price, the study found.

One interesting problem discovered was that “superficially positive” words that, in effect, damn with faint praise — such as “clean” or “quiet” — had zero or even a negative correlation with prices.

In another study researchers 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.  But with that said “new paint” appeared on 15% of the listings and was the most commonly listed comment.

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.  Sellers should focus on words that are extravagant; otherwise buyers perceive that it’s not worth talking about.

The biggest word sellers today need to avoid is the word ‘motivated’.   Homes with ‘motivated sellers’ stayed on the market 15% longer than average and sold for 4% less.  It’s perceived that the sellers overpriced the house to start with and eventually had to lower it.  This explains the length of time on the market and lower sales price.  Via latimes.com