Listing of the Day - Grand Rapids MI

In an effort to improve the impact of the marketing of listings, I randomly choose current listings around the country in a variety of price ranges and comment on their effectiveness. No current clients of mine are used, nor do I know any sellers or buyers or have any additional information about the property.


4605 Woodcreek Dr. SE, Grand Rapids MI $249,900 5 + 3


http://realestate.mlive.com/?classification=real+estate&temp_type=detail&tp=RE_mlive&property=mlive.com&finder=buy&ad_id=308517398


This listing advertisement is very much a mixed bag compared with most. The photo spread and primary photo do provide a solid first impression. Then again, the excellent landscaping and the trees filled with leaves mean that this photo was taken weeks if not months ago, and this ad appears at the start of December.

In addition, what looks like a spread with 7 different photos is really 5. The two exterior shots are really the same photo from a different angle. A closer review of the interior shots, done because 2 looked very similar, reveals that indeed the same room is featured in 2 of the photos from opposite corners of the room. For a 5 bedroom home with 2 levels, I would like to think there would be other impressive photo opportunities available instead of duplicating.

Putting all of the description copy in capital letters makes it a challenging read. Some would question the internet protocol of "yelling" by using all caps. All caps takes the 'personality' out of the copy/

Whoever wrote the description copy also assumes too much at the start of the description. While I appreciate and consider it a positive that mentioning the school district is a priority with a 5 bedroom home, the mention of "Kentwood taxes" in the very first sentence takes this down a notch. It is quite likely that home owners and home buyers in that region get the meaning of "Kentwood taxes". However, I am not from this area, so I have no idea of what the significance might be. Since this is a 5-bedroom home, there is a strong chance that the buyer of this home will come from out of the immediate area. Per my "first impression" theory of real estate marketing, the first sentence needs to contain selling points that present strong appeal to any and all potential buyers. Don't confuse even one. They can click away at any time.

Run-on sentences abound in this description as if there is so much information it won't all fit. Sometimes that is a good selling approach. However, there is fragment "with second set of stairs leading to the second floor". That fragment took up 10 words. If I were even going to include this fact as a major selling point (and that's up for debate), I could have said it as "dual staircases". Would have left me with space for 8 more words, and that would have been plenty to point out another selling point. And this comes before the "lots of closet for storage" sentence at the end of the description.

As if someone seriously looking for a 5-bedroom home needs to be told how to use the closets.

With all of the extra words instead of selling points, we, for example, are not told at any point in this advertisement how many cars fit in the attached garage. This is Michigan where it is about to be the snowy season, and one has to believe the residents of a 5-bedroom home own more than one vehicle.

Overall, this house just might sell itself. There aren't many 5-bedroom homes with 3.5 baths available in this area at this price range. Yet, the agent is NOT selling this listing due to reasons I have already mentioned. The seller should not be pleased with this advertisement.


GRADE: C-




Note: This commentary is uncompensated and for marketing purposes only and is no reflection on the featured property. Its accuracy is not guaranteed. Neither Dave Kohl nor First In Promotions shall be held responsible for any representations.

At this time, I have openings for more realty agent/office clients to critique current and brand new listings on an hourly basis. No current or past client listings are featured on this blog.Random listings are chosen around the country.

Your comments are most welcome!