A few weeks ago, my wife and I decided to sell our condo. (Well, more accurately, her condo that I moved into. You’d probably know that if you saw it; the walls were pink.) Given that we already purchased another one, for more than we’d hoped, we aimed to do everything in our power to sell high. And so, since I’m in the business of internet marketing optimization and tend to obsess over effectiveness, I decided to try an experiment—one that helped us sell for nearly 5% over asking and can hopefully help you do the same or better.
The experiment was prompted partly by a section of the book Freakonomics describing words that are statistically more common in real estate descriptions of homes that sell high. It was also prompted by weeks of looking at MLS listings, where I found descriptions of real estate to be quite telling. After several days reviewing results, code words like “cozy” (small) became glaringly obvious, as did signals of concrete value (like “granite countertops”).
So I decided to make an unusual request of our real estate agent: provide me with listings of 100 condos like ours (one bedrooms in Toronto) that sold for over asking and 100 that sold for under asking. I then ran a text analysis of both listings to determine the frequency of words used within each. Finally, I created a spreadsheet to compare the frequency of words within each group. I designed the spreadsheet to show words that appear more often in over-asking listings than under-asking listings (consider using these when they apply); words that appear in over-asking listings and not in under-asking listings at all (consider using these when they apply); and words that appear less often in over-asking listings than under-asking listings (consider not using these when possible). For example, “stackable” appears seven times more often in listings for units sold over asking than in listings for units sold under asking, suggesting a correlation between the word “stackable” (likely for stackable washer-dryer sets) and a better selling price.
Based on the findings, I created this description:
Bright, large, upgraded and near everything–one of few affordable opportunities left at Yonge/Eglinton. Sunny, spacious, floor-to-ceiling windows, stacked washer/dryer, balcony, hardwood floors, custom window coverings, mirrored sliding closet doors, and custom shelves. Building extras include concierge, gym, hot tub and rooftop terrace. Watch urban views from your living room and walk to supermarkets, restaurants, theatres, parks, schools, libraries, shopping, subway and coffee shops–literally at your doorstep (Starbucks on ground floor!).
The result? The first day we took offers, we had a bidding war and sold for nearly 5% over asking. While I certainly can’t say the description was entirely responsible—the unit is great, my wife made it beautiful, and our agent was awesome—I can say from my own experience browsing MLS that words count. For example, I never would have thought to use words like “stacked,” figuring “washer/dryer” would suffice.
Below I’ve included a raw export of the lists that fed this description. Feel free to use them, but consider these caveats:
- The type of words relevant to your particular real estate likely differ; if you think description optimization could help you, ask an agent to pull over-asking and under-asking listings relevant to your particular property and follow the steps outlined above to produce your own lists.
- The amount of occurrences (for example, a 2/1 ratio and 20/10 ratio) is given equal weight in these listings, but I could have extended the analysis to account for such differences.
- The correlation with the percent of the listing price—for example, whether “stackable” correlates more with units that sold 125% over asking than units that sold 101% over asking—is not accounted for; this, however, could also be done, albeit would require a more robust export of real estate listing data.
- Some words appear on multiple lists; this is an error, I believe, resulting from the text analysis, and could be corrected for in future analyses.
- I haven’t analyzed the results for statistical significance, but would assume a larger number of listings would improve the data’s validity and reliability.
With that out of the way, here are the lists:
Words Appearing More Frequently in Over-Asking Listings (Ordered By Percentage Difference, from Highest to Lowest)
- stackable
- queens
- shows
- quay
- harrison
- properties
- wow
- ready
- ceiling
- bed
- sunny
- everything
- bloor
- jarvis
- decor
- private
- extra
- eaton
- grocery
- design
- upgrades
- art
- fixture
- pond
- above
- townhse
- style
- except
- bales
- few
- quiet
- richmond
- offers
- neutral
- builder
- separate
- panoramic
- golf
- refrigerator
- custom
- recently
- bayview
- elfs
- windows
- tub
- terrequity
- opportunity
- street
- wall
- clean
- restaurants
- plan
- unobstructed
- large
- space
- views
- hot
- menkes
- supermarket
- must
- exclude
- hospitals
- bbqs
- countertops
- covering
- church
- multi
- jacuzzi
- pision
- entrance
- black
- quality
- beecroft
- ownership
- urban
- affordable
- ideal
- sell
- acc
- northtown
- harbourfront
- clothes
- gallery
- long
- city
- bathroom
- just
- includes
- right
- bar
- concierge
- north
- open
- terrace
- hood
- banker
- coldwell
- market
- wood
- theatre
- fees
- rec
- yonge
- sheppard
- walk
- management
- waterfront
- measurements
- maple
- acre
- realtron
- lounge
- se
- pot
- mirror
- shelving
- natural
- ryerson
- parks
- concept
- luxury
- breakfast
- school
- steps
- centre
- plus
- lots
- enjoy
- library
- west
- public
- south
- xmain
- rental
- fan
- sliding
- maintenance
- community
- per
- freshly
- media
- model
- rean
- moulding
- crown
- same
- tradeworld
- stylish
- furniture
- tenant
- lux
- squash
- marina
- empress
- builder
- buyers
- fee
- penthouse
- coverings
- ltd
- bath
- home
- floors
- visitor
- layout
- fabulous
- financial
- range
- foyer
- move
- deck
- transit
- blvd
- tile
- luxurious
- lights
- house
- optic
- excl
- glass
- lobby
- month
- allowed
- demand
- available
- bus
- convenient
- view
- gym
- window
- subway
- stacked
- tower
- fantastic
- include
- buyer
- closet
- concierge
- district
- microwave
- existing
- doors
- vertical
- cozy
- miss
- place
- french
- built
- shops
- garden
- elf\
- gym
- shopping
- rooftop
- painted
- services
- gorgeous
- hallmark
- sink
- library
- wellesley
- parking
- tscc
- party
- mirrored
- included
- hwy
- lakeshore
- hrs
- overlooking
- games
- bright
- dryer
- dundas
- splash
- size
- bedroom
- electric
- washer
- balcony
- exclusive
- roof
- low
- lawrence
- laminate
- concrete
- living
- room
- guest
- suites
- meeting
- heart
- lepage
- solarium
- homelife
- spadina
- royal
- estate
- exercise
- flat
- level
- condo
- dining
- stove
- gas
- real
- floor
- fireplace
- forced
- air
- owned
- bldg
- locker
- suite
- hardwood
- unknown
- none
- prop
- finch
- park
- dishwasher
- fridge
- apt
- mls
- prkg
- condoman
- sold
Words Appearing in Over-Asking Listings But Not Under-Asking Listings (in Order of Occurrence Within Over-Asking Listings, from Highest to Lowest)
- track
- virtual
- leaside
- soaker
- telegram
- away
- corporation
- theatres
- mews
- use
- shelter
- site
- club
- friendly
- skyline
- nice
- parkview
- live
- shelves
- elegant
- lighting
- pride
- esplanade
- ridge
- business
- vaulted
- carlton
- amenties
- tba
- bay
- rare
- show
- july
- canadian
- table
- screen
- upscale
- distillery
- buy
- roger
- professionals
- mahogany
- pulse
- finishes
- beautifully
- vistas
- incredible
- surface
- many
- welcome
- metro
- micro
- racquet
- oven
- spectrum
- rods
- highway
- landmark
- sale
- surface
- won
- immaculately
- homewood
- worship
- rarely
- harvest
- features
- line
- yorkville
- overlea
- big
- wide
- spectacular
- bring
- grade
- office
- pls
- deep
- briarlane
- parliament
- radiant
- cul
- desirable
- yrt
- empire
- assume
- stools
- doris
- doorstep
- sunset
- buses
- sunsets
- functional
- need
- chairs
- upgrade
- wasted
- raised
- halogen
- swag
- appr
- attractions
- photo
- lamp
- aqua
- murphy
- numerous
- avondale
- gardiner
- trustwell
- ultimate
- quarter
- thru
- terraces
- prompton
- remodeled
- chic
- bosley
- agent
- call
- expansive
- tandem
- underpadding
- comfortable
- williams
- speed
- decorated
- pcs
- saunas
- cafes
- streetcar
- thruout
- ycc
- tons
- trinity
- sac
- sat
- couch
- comes
- meticulously
- showing
- keller
- via
- simerra
- monday
- svcs
- inviting
- tastefully
- icon
- landscaped
- optional
- curtains
- offered
- rms
- coffee
- charles
- major
- breathtaking
- walkouts
- bdr
- pre
- leased
- pkg
- organizer
- blcny
- stores
- cvrngs
- mirr
- game
- sought
- tree
- lined
- tiles
- millwood
- bicycle
- percy
- fulton
- cardio
- computer
- arts
- short
- rack
- hwt
- brkfst
- movies
- george
- makes
- else
- drs
- inclusive
- treetops
- even
- mkt
- dream
- mount
- transportation
- planned
- service
- civic
- movie
- pet
- lorraine
- ammenities
- lay
- prestigious
- lge
- frosted
- lakefront
- daily
- fibre
- owner
- diswasher
- sparkling
- immediate
- prestigous
- mtce
- load
- kings
- address
- excluding
- apex
- taking
- choose
- breath
- goldview
- chef
- plentry
- facilites
- tridel
- encl
- mtc
- generous
- brackets
- bustling
- catering
- doggy
- routes
- bellwoods
- efficient
- confection
- mgm
- shaw
- overly
- end
- buildings
- hottest
- breezy
- absolute
- conference
- cityline
- dreamy
- creamy
- sized
- second
- square
- proportioned
- basketball
- surround
- dark
- courts
- alley
- jogging
- dish
- kind
- ect
- encl
- financing
- book
- simerra
- galore
- now
- hard
- billard
- change
- everywhere
- hip
- stack
- adjacent
- app
- shuter
- fullest
- maximizing
- swiming
- shlvg
- lived
- pole
- noted
- registered
- fancy
- fittings
- dynamite
- stafford
- package
- victory
- inspired
- excercise
- aprx
- upgrd
- midnight
- upgd
- units
- faucets
Words Appearing More Often in Under-Asking Listings (in Order of Difference from Over-Asking Listings, from Most Difference to Least Difference)
- level
- gas
- front
- mgmt
- dryer
- kitchen
- park
- air
- living
- guard
- concrete
- dishwasher
- brick
- dining
- area
- counter
- system
- laminate
- coverings
- closet
- transit
- access
- bath
- full
- floor
- appliances
- parquet
- ensuite
- microwave
- don
- renovated
- ltd
- other
- dvp
- new
- broadloom
- hospital
- balcony
- patio
- brookfield
- western
- eglinton
- wellington
- sutton
- splash
- counters
- schools
- battery
- del
- bathurst
- none
- electric
- full
- leading
- elf
- hour
- walls
- available
- under
- fully
- associates
- facilities
- whirlpool
- main
- queen
- school
- pump
- liberty
- square
- walking
- cabinetry
- courtyard
- court
- conserv
- grnbelt
- laminated
- sink
- edge
- used
- near
- concept
- sauna
- plaster
- stucco
- well
- island
- electrical
- management
- underground
- window
- pool
- facing
- olive
- closets
- good
- tennis
- pemberton
- corner
- billiards
- distance
- cabinets
- signature
- pass
- gerrard
- wash
- appl
- professional
- professionally
- too
- future
- bar
- new
- centre
- condition
- patio
- stunning
- spa
- huge
- view
- bdrm
- door
- strachan
- side
- court
- don
- way
- internet
- fort
- stainless
- village
- steel
- exclusive
- beautiful
- minutes
- much
- flrs
- university
- doors
- direct
- throughout
- prime
- countertop
- newer
- perfect
- located
- overlooks
- bishop
- andrejs
- drapes
- unique
- immaculate
- lights
- super
- rangehood
- colours
- offer
- star
- semi
- tour
- gardens
- airy
- fiber
- theater
- waterfront
- store
- pool
- ensuite
- downtown
- parking
- approx
- excellent
- mtcc
- counter
- best
- amazing
- suites
- area
- group
- flr
- no
- location
- fixtures
- granite
- top
- blinds
- looks
- storage
- sun
- next
- complex
- cabinet
- hers
- lake
- outdoor
- value
- renovated
- upgraded
- main
- access
- tridel
- swimming
- sherbourne
- trendy
- fitness
- owned
- your
- amenities
- den
- indoor
- close
- property
- high
- etc
- easy
- sw
- undergrnd
- maintained
- sauna
- where
- spot
- bbq
- spacious
- flooring
- rogers
- ceilings
- backsplash
- see
- open
- system
- kitchen
- great
- laundry
- building
- broadloom
- picture
- ave
- light
- restrict
- back
- sqft
- undergrnd
- brick
- recreation
- appliances
- security
- ceramic
- brand
- realty
- york
- guard
- combined
- rooms
- modern
- unit
- double
- ttc
- mgmt
- central
- room
- exposure
- heat
- taxes
- cable
- vac
- ontario
- uffi
- hydro
- toronto
- master
- apartment
- exterior
- elevator
- pets
- cac
- incl
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