Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Listing of the Day - Jackson MS

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.




1767 Plantation Blvd., Jackson MS 4+2 $175,000


http://www.homefinder.com/MS/Jackson/49615989d_1767_Plantation_Blvd


The primary photo brings a very strong first impression to this southern mansion with the exterior shot highlighing the surrounding trees and the size and scope of the home. The remaining photos are used wisely, showing the exterior from behind, and the interior photos showing off the different rooms including giving the viewer a good idea of how the furniture would fit.

While the description copy does well at bringing out several of the selling points of the home, it suffers only slightly from too many abbreviations. Stating "nearby study/br" is confusing, as is the phrase "Master suite is down + 1/2ba. 2 br/1 ba up". If after personally seeing property ads from around the country every week for the past 20 years I am somewhat baffled by the description, I would bet that many potential buyers experienced confusion from those phrases.

Those points could and should have been better explained. The "word limit" excuse doesn't fly. Instead of the "fabulous feeling house" and "move-in condition" phrases, there should have been a more thorough explanation of selling points.

Yet, the use of "closets galore" says a lot in just 2 words. Good writing technique. However, even though it may not be the agent's fault, having a misspelled word (breakfast is spelled incorrectly in the description) always relflects poorly on the agent. Sorry, but agents (or at the very least an office secretary) are supposed to know to check and double check their advertising.

Having a 2-car garage plus 2 parking spaces is also a plus, although this is not pointed out until below in the "exterior details" section. Buyers looking at a 4-bedroom home are likely to be very concerned about parking possibilities.

The right information and a very solid photo spread should make a potential buyer want to pursue this property, even though there is room for improvement.

GRADE: B-



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!


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