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 a “his and hers bath,” not “his and her.” 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.
In her recent WSJ article, Sanette Tanaka reports on an analysis of real estate listings priced at $1 million and up, conducted by Redfin, a national real-estate brokerage, and Grammarly, an online proofreading application. Their analysis revealed that good grammar really does pay—listings that were free of spelling or grammatical error 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.
