Do Home Descriptions Really Matter?

Does anybody really care about the written description that goes in the MLS for a house? Sometimes all you see are bullet points that read like an inventory list. Does it even matter? I know it does. A client called me after her house didn't sell with another broker. It was a mid-century in Silver Lake, priced well, and the broker used great photography; I wondered, why didn't this house sell?  Well, I read the description that the agent used in the multiple listing service.

"Fantastic opportunity in hip Silverlake to take this mid-century to the next level. Imagine the possibilities currently configured as a three-bedroom, one used as a den. This home has a bonus room just waiting to be turned into a fourth bedroom, rec room, or office. This home has spectacular views of the Hollywood sign."

I don't know about you, but when I read that, I hear a lot of work that needs to be done on a house that really wasn't a fixer. We remarketed the home.  We used great photography, and this is how I described the house. 

"Some lucky people find four-leaf clovers. Some find mid-century homes with fabulous views, a perfect hilltop backyard, in a separate office in the hills of Silver Lake. Enter the living room with clean lines and abundant natural light. And you're in a space open to the kitchen with stainless steel cabinets that invites you out to the rare hilltop backyard with manicured paths through vegetable and herb gardens in a sprawling fig tree providing shade to the custom-built outdoor table."

Now, that's a description that paints a picture. We put the home back on the market with that description and received multiple offers. It sold it for $30,000 over the price that the previous agent had listed it for. So, I like to say that description was worth about $30,000. If you have any questions about what a marketing plan might look like for your home, give us a call. We're happy to help.