Oct 14, 2008 11:50 am US/Eastern
The Right Word Choice Can Help Sell Your House
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
With the financial markets in turmoil, selling a house right now may seem like a crazy idea. But if you do have to sell, something as simple as the right choice of words might help you find a buyer in these troubled times.
Dolf Schmitz hopes he didn't wait too long to put his house on the market. He needs to downsize. "It's a large house, five bedrooms and five baths; it's not something I need," he said. He knows it's going not going to be easy, so he hired a realtor to help.
Realtor Jennifer Mansell says choosing just the right words to describe the property is crucial. "
Good condition and
move-in ready," are the words that buyers want to hear.
Two recent studies looked at whether certain sales terms really make a difference when you are selling a home. One was done by real estate expert Thomas Thompson. "There seems to be some universal marketing truths," he said.
It's no secret that buyers like bargains, so listing descriptions that say '
good buy' or '
good condition' can really help according to Thompson. "Houses where it was stated that they were in good condition sold for almost 3% almost 4% higher than houses that didn't have that comment and they sold about three days faster," he said.
Words like '
updates' also work. "Houses that indicate they were updated sold for about 5% more than houses that weren't," he said. Those houses also sold more quickly.
Something else that surprised researchers: the term '
motivated seller'. Those houses sold for less and they took longer. "The typical house sells in 90 – 100 days but once it said 'motivated seller', it took 2 weeks longer to sell."
If your home needs work, the research shows the term '
handy-man special' helped sell a home faster but '
as is' took longer.
Finally, if you have
granite, make sure you include that in the listing. Research shows the pricey countertops really do help a home sell.
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