LeapRE looked at the length of descriptions for listings for properties closed in 2011 and the average sales price by bracket. What LeapRE found was a correlation between length of description and final sale price. In the MLS, the maximum number of characters that can be used in a description is 420. The chart illustrates the percentage of listings with different character counts, and according to the graph, the higher the average sale price, the more characters used in the MLS description for that listing. Therefore, 22 percent of MLS descriptions that take up the maximum character count are for the highest average sale price in Chicagoland: just over $318,750; 26 percent of descriptions with 300 characters or less are for listings with an average sale price of $123,037. Does this mean agents are willing to put more effort into listing descriptions when the listing price is higher, but aren’t necessarily going to work as hard for a lesser-priced home?
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The description is created to inform but more importantly to create a desire to see the property. It falls under the umbrella of marketing.
I’m having trouble seeing the oorrelation. Could it simply be that more expensive homes have more features to describe?
It would be interesting to know if there is a correlation between room count, square footage and length of listing description. Also, I agree with Sari, who commented that more expensive homes might have more features to describe. It is beneficial to highlight the details and special features of a property in a way that piques the interest of as many prospects as possible. But overselling can come at a cost. If a prospective buyer is underwhelmed they may feel duped and strike that property from their list of contenders.
When I pulled this data I was surprised to see the strength of correlation between the sell price and the character count. There are obviously numerous factors that could go into it: number of features, different handling of lower priced or even REO properties, number of rooms, uniqueness of features, etc. Also I think there is something to be said for concise messaging.
However, considering that I can write 420 characters about my left shoe , I think one could assume there are some agents out there that fail to put their best foot forward when the price tag is smaller.
This response is 620 characters. 😉