A frank real estate ad on Craigslist
Real estate listings are famous for their hyperbole, but the industry may be getting a little more honest. The trend towards more frank listing language isn’t because brokers have mended their ways; over the top wealth blather just isn’t selling like it used to.
Everyone rolls their eyes at the depressing ubiquity of phrases like “olde-word charm,” “refined elegance,” and “prepare to be awed!” in real estate advertising. But millennials especially cannot stand or afford the bourgeois language of faux-elegance.
The new wave of real estate ads tap into the difficult financial circumstances many homebuyers find themselves in today. Listings proclaim: “Could Be Worse!”, “Bitchin’ brownstone in sketchy neighborhood,” “Beggars Can’t Be Choosers!”
Some firms are even employing teen copywriters to reach younger consumers, according to the Wall Street Journal. And with absolutely no one enamored with the current language of real estate copy, ads that honestly say, “running water, occasional heat, infrequent homicides,” could be refreshing for the entire industry. [WSJ] –Christopher Cameron