Home listing word choice makes a big impact

A recent Canadian study finds that the actual words real estate agents and home sellers use to advertise their properties has a significant impact on how quickly the home will sell, and what price it fetches.

Researchers from the University of Guelph in Ontario analyzed more than 20,000 home listings, and found that the use of "beautiful" instead of "move-in condition" could make as much as a 5 percent difference in the final selling price.

In addition, descriptions that emphasized the attractiveness of the property were more effective than those which focused on value and prices. Although experts said that each market may behave differently.

"There's usually something that can be said in a positive way which will force a buyer reading an ad to see opportunities," Catherine Lindstadt, a broker at Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate in New York, told Newsday.

Another study from the University of Texas at San Antonio showed that Realtors' comments in the description section of MLS listings can also have an effect, and that comments that discussed the home's features and used the word "updated" resulted in higher selling prices.