I write luxury real estate copy, a ton of it. And I proofread plenty of ads, brochures and email marketing, too. I know my clients sigh deeply when I proofread ads and send back my persnickety comments. It’s Snaidero kitchen design, not Snydero. I point out wonky-looking fonts, missing words, misspellings and the fact that you Don’t Need to Capitalize Every Word. You get the idea.
I’m sure they think I’m just a crotchety grammar pedant, but I’m picky because it matters. Buyers of million-dollar homes pay attention to details—including grammar and spelling. And guess what? Now there’s a research study that back me up.
A study by Redfin, a national real-estate brokerage, and Grammarly, an online proofreading application, found that good grammar really does pay—listings that were free of spelling or grammatical errors sold three days faster and are 10% more likely to sell for more than their list price than listings overall.
And, as you might imagine, the reverse is also true. Those million-dollar listings awash in technical errors stayed on the market longer, and were more likely to sell for below list price.
So to real estate developers and agents everywhere: be kind to your real estate copywriter and proofreader. They know their stuff—and they are earning you more money on every home you sell.