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Real estate jargon has long been the subject of ridicule - cosy translates as tiny, rustic may mean shabby and renovator's dream could signify the place is falling to bits.
But a major survey has found that when used accurately, certain words can boost home prices - and
slash the time they take to sell.
Real estate economist Professor Paul Anglin and his team examined more than 20,000 Canadian listings from between 1997 and 2000.
Listings containing the words beautiful or gorgeous sold 15 per cent faster than the average, while landscaping sped up the sale by 20 per cent.
And calling a home a handyman special - equivalent to the Kiwi renovator's dream - halved the sale time.
In contrast, words that suggested the vendors were desperate, such as motivated and must-sell, slowed sales time by 30 per cent.
A quick survey of Kiwi listings found them littered with the sort of language the study examined.
New Zealand experts quizzed by the Herald on Sunday agreed certain words could pique emotion but cautioned against pushing the truth.
"There are some agents who will use stunning in almost every ad," said Barfoot & Thompson's Mike Swan.
"You have got to be careful, because what's stunning to one person, may not be stunning to another."
Chief executive of realestate.co.nz, Alistair Helm, said there was often magic in the words used in real estate listings.
But describing a home as a rental, or for investors, probably wouldn't have the same negative effect on sale time as in Canada.
"It would be very different in New Zealand, I would think," said Helm.
"We've got a large market for smaller landlords."
He said vendors advertising on realestate.co.nz were advised about the importance of factual language and an eyecatching layout, although there was no list of "hot" words that should be used.
The level of financial commitment involved in buying a property should ensure all decisions were made "incredibly rationally".
But emotion came into play more often than not, he said, particularly in advertising viewed by women.
He said using emotive words like beautiful and gorgeous stimulated the mind's interest.
He agreed phrases reeking of desperation such as "must sell" wouldn't help a property sell, especially as the market slowed.
