Every house deserves a good story. Almost every real estate professional I’ve met has got lots of good stories to tell. This should be a perfect match for a ‘one plus one equals four’ type equation. Yet, when it comes to writing listing remarks or ads, agents seem to forget all those fabulous story telling skills they put on display at networking events.

Instead, they give us captivating details like 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage, good condition, great neighborhood… ya-da, ya-da, ya-da…

I learned two lessons early on in my days of selling houses. The first lesson is buyers rarely bought a property that had the features they initially described to me. And the second lesson is that buyers almost always bought a home that they fall in love with.

How we present that new listing online to potential buyers is really important. We need to get their attention, we need them to want to learn more and we need our listing to stand out from the crowd of all the other listings.

I think that great photos and a great story are the best way to do this. We fall in love with our eyes first and our emotions second. Great photos will capture a person’s attention, but if we don’t connect with their emotions pretty quickly, they might just pass by our listing and move onto the next good looking house on the screen.

So agents please break out of your comfort zone and put on your story telling hat. Look at the house… those four walls that will become a home for a family… and give it a story that will capture the heart of a potential buyer.

Everybody loves a good story.