Hi folks,

Many purchasers report that they feel that real estate ads often exaggerate the features of properties for sale.

Yet agents frequently report that when it’s their turn to sell, many proud home owners just can’t help wanting to ‘oversell’ their property by insisting that every feature of their home is highlighted in every ad, or by describing their home as having ‘four bedrooms’ rather than ‘three bedrooms and a study’. But what does a real estate ad really need to achieve?

No matter how superlative the advertising language is, the day of reckoning comes when purchasers arrive and match up their expectations with the reality. If the ad has done its job, purchasers will feel excited when they see the real thing. If an ad overstates the features of the property, purchasers often feel deflated or even worse - conned. A real estate ad has done its initial job if makes people feel desire and curiosity – sufficient to make them come and carry out an inspection. Disappointed purchasers are unlikely to make offers.

The property ad is not there to inform prospective purchasers about every aspect of the property. Too much information can actually make people decide not to inspect the property at all. To the inexperienced, this seems an unlikely situation. How could an ad that highlights the property’s desirability actually go against it in the long run? Many home sellers don’t realise that potential purchasers may decide without seeing the house that it would not suit them. Some sellers think that purchasers who have already made up their minds against their property weren’t ever going to buy the property anyway, so it’s a good job they didn’t waste everyone’s time on an inspection. This approach is a short-sighted one, however, as it overlooks the very real potential for the house to sell to someone who falls in love with it even though it doesn’t outwardly meet all the criteria on their wish list, or had a feature they had decided they didn’t want. Remember, most purchasers have to compromise on some features, and the home may meet their needs so well in some particular way that is special to them that they overlook the glaring lack of something else they thought they needed.