The power of the written word

It took some convincing but I’m now a convert – a slavish devotee to the power of expert copywriting in real estate market. Truly this could be the sharpest weapon in the modern real estate agent’s arsenal, lifting response rates by – in our experience – up to 220% per home. In an era when every home can have great photography done, every home can have an expert floorplan created and every home can have a virtual online tour, the key to making a home stand out in a competitive market comes down to the accompanying words. Words capture what nothing else can – the history of the home, its ambience, its lifestyle provisions … the things you can only know by living in a home. And vendors are only too happy to provide all this information – seriously, they love being “interviewed” about their home! For years real estate agents have written property scripts themselves, often reverting to tired old clichés and ‘Renovator’s delight!’-style hyperbole, but they are not journalists and many of us are not wordsmiths. Hiring a professional copywriter, and one who loves and understands property, is an experiment that we have trialled this year with outstanding success. We’ve experienced a doubling and tripling of figures in terms of keen buyers attending open home inspections. In one standout case, a small property in Chapel Hill that had minimal street appeal and therefore not many good photos to choose from attracted an amazing 80 inspections in 10 days – we directly attributed that to the accompanying script prepared by a professional copywriter. As I said, I’m a convert. And I’ve put money behind the concept to affirm that belief. We now have a professional copywriter on board and her brilliant words form part “platinum” marketing package, which is afforded to every property listed regardless of price. Gerard Baden-Clay Principal, Century 21 Westside