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Late last year, we set out to determine the qualities of the most successful property listings on Investorlift. We examined three key success metrics:

  • Number of days on Investorlift before receiving an offer

  • Number of offers received

  • Percentage of the offer price relative to the asking price

Our intuition suggested that the property description should play a major role in listing performance. Following traditional marketing principles, we hypothesized that listings with more attention-grabbing, colorful, and highly formatted descriptions would perform better.

 

The Findings: Formatting Had No Impact

 

Surprisingly, our analysis showed that the formatting of a property description had no impact on listing success. It wasn’t that an overly formatted description hurt performance—it simply didn’t matter AT ALL.

 

Analyzing the Data

 

We examined various description attributes and their correlation with listing success, including:

  • Length of the description

  • Ratio of emojis to text

  • Ratio of bold and italicized text to plain text

  • Ratio of centered text to unformatted text

  • Ratio of colored text to black text

When compared against key success metrics (days before receiving an offer, number of offers received, and offer price ratio), the results showed near-zero correlation.

 

Visualizing the Data: Heatmap Analysis

 

The heatmap we generated illustrates these correlations clearly:

  • Lighter colors indicate a stronger correlation.

  • Darker colors indicate little to no correlation.

  • The top right corner, where description characteristics are compared to success measures, is a solid block of dark blue, meaning the correlations are near zero.

 

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This visualization confirms that no description formatting choice—be it emojis, bold text, or colored fonts—had any meaningful impact on the number of offers, offer price ratio, or time on the platform.

 

Evaluating Performance Before and After the Change

 

Following these findings, we decided to remove certain formatting options from property descriptions. Some community members were skeptical, suggesting that removing these features might negatively impact listing performance.

To address these concerns, we analyzed the distribution of success metrics before and after the change. The results showed:

  • No considerable difference in success metrics between listings before and after formatting was removed.

  • Any fluctuations in performance were attributed to natural market variations, not formatting changes.

 

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What This Means

 

Key Takeaways

 

  • Focus on substance over style – Buyers care about deal details, not flashy descriptions.

  • Ensure accurate pricing – Offer price ratio and reasonable asking prices have a bigger impact on success.

  • Provide complete property information – Quality images, walkthrough videos, and documentation matter more than formatted text.

 

What to Prioritize in Listings

 

Rather than spending time tweaking formatting, sellers should ensure their listings include:

  • Competitive pricing (both asking price and ARV)

  • Clear, high-quality images

  • Detailed property descriptions with key facts

  • Comprehensive repair estimates and comps

  • Supporting documentation (walkthrough videos, inspection reports, etc.)

 

Our analysis makes one thing clear: clients should focus on the content of their listings, not the formatting. Well-priced properties with complete information will always outperform those with flashy but incomplete descriptions.

By prioritizing accuracy, transparency, and competitive pricing, sellers can maximize their deal success on Investorlift.

 

Contact Information for Further Assistance

 

For questions or further insights, contact the Investorlift support team:

 

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This data-backed breakdown is a game-changer! What do you all think about these findings? ​@Sherman Ledesma, ​@Peter Osmanski, ​@Cordell , ​@Dispomoneymike, ​@Zoerene, ​@Patrick Lee —have you noticed this in your own listings? Do you prioritize substance over formatting? Let’s hear your thoughts!


@Lais Laudari , I think the goal is to make it easy as possible to make a decision.  This includes professional pictures, matterport for walk through and home inspection report upfront. 


@Lais Laudari Well after reviewing the facts it does makes sense, I believe the mindset is that we intend at times to want to make it flowery or emotional in hopes that it will grab the end buyer’s attention (e.g., “cozy 3-bedroom with a charming porch”) — unless you’re targeting a retail buyer, then that would potentially be important. However, Investors just want the “meat &potatoes” (facts & potential), no fluff:)

 


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