Listing of the Day - Advertising Critique - San Francisco CA

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.




48 Turquoise Way, San Francisco CA 3 + 2 $1,050,000

http://realestate.sfgate.com/homes/listing/123-2891/San-Francisco-CA-USA/2-beds/2-baths/SINGLE-FAMILY-type/1000000-3000000-price/Priority,0,,Price_Sales,0-ns/20-CH5521534--123-2975--290-371870--20-CH5522942--123-2891--20-CH5523019--20-CH5523010--193-367710--20-CH5522400--312-81000129-ls/199-t


For anyone that gets past the photospread, this is an excellent job of marketing a million dollar property. The primary exterior photo looks like a gated castle wall entrance and not the property itself, along with appearing to be very close to the curb for a mansion. A poor choice for catching the eye of an interested potential buyer. The remaining photos are mostly exterior and do not provide a scope of the size and features of the home. The last photo shows some of the interior, but appears to be to spotlight an exterior entrance to the inside.

For those who stick around long enough to read the description, it is compounded by having approximately half of the copy touting the location and the exterior features, including some Realtor fluff. The "incredible street presence" and "spacious public rooms" mentions could be turn-offs to buyers or investors of this caliber of property wishing to maintain a degree of privacy. Let alone that they have no idea of what the interior actually looks like after all of this time.

The lower 1/2 of the description, finally addressing the interior, is among the best I have ever seen in my 21 years of reviewing property advertisements. The agent's ability to walk you through with his description becomes a 'written tour' and is excellently done. He makes it seem like a million dollar property without any further Realtor fluff.

It took getting to that point to understand why the seller listed with this agent. That is before the ad reveals at the end that this property has a street address web site with more information.

However, the effective part is too late into the package. Think of a job resume where the applicant lists his/her most significant experience at the bottom, underneath the entry level positions. An employer probably isn't going to keep reading long enough to see the potential of the applicant. That's what happens here.

This problem could be easily fixed, even without adding photos of the interior (although that would certainly help). Simply reverse the order of the content, putting the interior description as prominent.

Until or unless adjustments are made:

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!