FAU: For Real Estate Agents, Being Attractive, Using Superlatives to Describe a Property Does Not Always Sell, Study Says

BOCA RATON, Fla., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Think being attractive and using lots of superlatives to describe a property helps a real estate agent be successful? According to recent research published by the American Real Estate Society (ARES), that thinking may be off the mark.

The study, published by ARES in the Journal of Housing Research, was conducted by Michael J. Seiler, Ph.D., of the College of William & Mary; Aaron Arndt, Ph.D., and Mark A. Lane, Ph.D., both of Old Dominion University; and David M. Harrison, Ph.D., of the University of Central Florida.

"Seiler's work in experimental real estate is ground-breaking, as we can now begin to see buyers' decision-making process for the first time and how it influences transaction outcomes," said Ken Johnson, Ph.D., real estate economist at Florida Atlantic University's College of Business, ARES publication director, and co-developer of the Beracha, Hardin and Johnson Buy vs. Rent Index.

The researchers investigated whether customers' overall impression of online property listings can be influenced by the real estate agent, and whether this influence depends on the customer's demographic characteristics. A sample of 1,594 potential homebuyers took an online audio/visual tour of a typically priced home in their area. Subjects were shown one of eight conditions in which the researchers varied agent gender, agent attractiveness and pathos (enhancing the verbal description of the property with superlatives). The results show that segments of customers are drawn to different real estate agents, but contrary to expectations, customers were not necessarily drawn to similar agents or more attractive ones. 

The study found that targeting customers with the same demographics is not necessarily an effective marketing strategy, that agent attractiveness does not entice customers in a way that is consistent with the customer's sexual interest, and that there was no significant difference by gender or marital status. Enhancing the verbal description of the property with superlatives influenced some subjects positively and others negatively.

"Our study shows that an agent's physical attractiveness, similarity to the prospective home buyer, and use of pathos influences the overall impression of the home, but not in a consistent enough way to specifically instruct agents to adopt a certain strategy," Seiler said. "Importantly, adopting the incorrect strategy could very well work against the agent."

SOURCE Florida Atlantic University College of Business