Which would you rather buy – a home owned by amotivated seller or a handyman special?  Apparently motivated sellers took 15 percent longer to sell than handyman specials. Words matter according to a study by researcher Paul Anglin, who teaches real-estate and housing trends at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. 

So what word help sell your home?  Curb appeal, move-in condition, granite, gourmet, golf, etc.

This isn’t terribly surprising conclusion to me. The marketing of your home should paint a verbal picture that appeals to the buyers sense of style more than their sense of value. For more on this study, see Ann Brenoff’s article.