Okay, maybe the headline’s a bit of a stretch, but hear me out.

How many times have you scrolled through property listings, spotted a photo, and thought, “Wow, look at the size of that reception room!” Only to show up and realise you’ve walked straight into Harry Potter’s cupboard under the stairs, with just enough space to turn around and find yourself nose to nose with an agent who’s clearly just had a tuna sandwich for lunch?

Or how about the “generous rear garden,” which, online, looked like a slice of Richmond Park, but in reality, your kids couldn’t swing a cat in it, not that you’d try, but you get the point.

It’s such a familiar, and let’s be honest, infuriating experience for anyone house hunting. So many estate agents oversell, either to stroke the homeowner’s ego or because they genuinely think it’s the right thing to do. Maybe that works if you’re selling Happy Meals, if you know, you know, but when it’s the biggest purchase of your life, you should be thinking about one thing only, how do we make this a positive, stress free experience for buyers?

Here’s where honesty wins; real, objective, warts and all honesty.

A few months ago, we ran an open house on Brunswick Road. Before launching, we actually listened to buyers’ feedback (shock horror), rather than just pushing our own opinions. The main “negatives” were clear, the garden was on the small side for the size of the house, and there was no off-street parking. So, we made that obvious in the marketing. On open day, out of 15 viewings, 25 in total, more than half said the garden was bigger than they expected from the photos, they were pleasantly surprised. Imagine that, buyers leaving happier than when they arrived.

Contrast that with the usual “wishy washy” nonsense you see in property descriptions. Here’s a real example, agent’s name redacted to protect the guilty,
“Estate agents of area are delighted to offer to the market this stunning detached property located on one of area’s most sought after roads.”
Delighted for who, exactly? Themselves? The homeowner? And who decided it’s the most sought after road? Ask 100 people and you’ll get 100 different answers.

The truth is, we used to do the same. We were caught up in the “norm” of estate agency, focused on making the homeowner swoon over their own listing. But here’s the thing, it’s the buyers who matter. They’re the ones parting with their hard earned cash.

So now, our descriptions are just the facts, especially the ones you can’t see in the photos or floorplans. If there’s no off-street parking, we say so. No sugar coating, no waiting for three wasted viewings to hear, “If only it had parking…”

Be transparent with your market. Your house might not look like Buckingham Palace, but buyers will appreciate your honesty, and trust you, and the agent, a whole lot more.

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Warm regards,
The Carringtons Team

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