When I first started in the marketing and sales of luxury residential real estate, I was reprimanded by my Broker for using the word "gorgeous" in the marketing text for a property. I am not sure if he had a particular aversion to "gorgeous" or if he was reacting to what he thought was unnecessary hyperbole.
Maybe the property just wasn't "gorgeous."
Well, who knew words like "gorgeous", and for that matter "beautiful" and "sepctacular" are worth money. Cold hard cash in the pocket money.
A recent Wall Street Journal article quoted the research of Bennie Waller, a professor of finance and real estate at Longwood University, in Virginia. Professor Waller found that each property characteristic mentioned in a listing description increases the sale price by just under 1% . . . words such as "fabulous" or "beautiful" could add up to real dough.
"That means a listing with 15 additional property characteristics sells for roughly a 13.5% premium," says Waller.
I for one will be working "gorgeous" into every website or brochure text I write from now on; heck 1% of a $10,000,000 sale is nothing to scoff at!
Responses