Could Bad grammar and typos in REALTOR'S® MLS® listings cost you money?

Perfect listings written in full sentences without spelling or grammatical errors sell three days faster

19 May 2014
REALTOR'S® listings, It’s not the first place you’d think grammatically in correct sentences would hit you're wallet, but it seems that sloppy REALTOR'S® listings negatively affect luxury home sales.
An analysis of properties listings priced at $1 million and up, conducted by Redfin, a national real-estate brokerage in the US, and Grammarly an online proofreading application, examined spelling errors and other grammatical red flags in 106,850 luxury listings in 52 metro areas in 2013, shows that "perfect" listings written in full sentences without spelling or grammatical errors sell three days faster and are 10% more likely to sell for more than their list price than listings overall.
On the other side, properties listings riddled with technical errors, misspellings, incorrect homonyms, incomplete sentences, among others log the most median days on the market before selling and have the lowest percentage of homes that sell over list price. 
REALTOR'S® vary greatly in their listing descriptions. While some national brokerages have implemented internal guidelines, much of the actual writing is within the ability and at the discretion of listing agents.
Bad grammar, misspellings, stray commas, missing periods, it's all part of listing descriptions, if the REALTOR'S® is sloppy with the listing, there may be a good chance they won’t watch the fine print of the Offer.

Good spelling and grammar may indicate the REALTOR'S® is attentive to other details as well, like pricing the home correctly and weighing offers, 
  • Most commonly misspelled words in listingsthroughout, separate, over sized

  • "Riverside, Calif., has the highest rate of listings with misspellings (57% of listings)"
    Source: Redfin and Grammarly
You can get a sense of what the transaction will be like based on the listing description. If it's exceptionally sloppy, then it's a warning sign of a potentially sloppy transaction. The analysis also looked at not just errors,but also at style preferences in listings.

One of the most common: phrases written in all-capital letters. These listings didn't get the highest value in terms of sale price, with only 5.6% of homes selling above list price. 

Common abbreviations, like "bdrm" for "bedroom," and other short phrases fared well by comparison. 

There’s a lot of valuable information to get across on these luxury properties, so some shorthand makes sense (and most prospective buyers understand most of the abbreviations). 

Abbreviations are necessary in Multiple Listing Services® with low character limits. "That's how REALTOR'S®, manage to fit everything in,".

Bad grammar and typos, and almost-illegible all-caps listings are annoying for most people. Tell us what you think and if you have anything to ad to this story in the comment section. 

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REAL ESTATE SNATCH is the independent real estate blog of Samir Safadi, Sales Representative of West-100 Metro View Realty Ltd, brokerage it is dedicated to covering Real Estate News, digital culture, social media and technology, providing analysis of trends, Market Data , reviewing new development. Offering Real Estate services resources and guides. Services are provided to prospective buyers and sellers of real estate by Samir Safadi, Sales Representative, West-100 Metro View Realty Ltd, brokerage, duly registered in the province of Ontario, under Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 (REBBA 2002) and Member in good standing with

 

 

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