It sounds like English, but what does it really mean? We decode agent-speak.
It's no secret that agents talk the talk - it's an attribute shared by the industry's top sellers. But the spin used in real estate marketing, those "sparkling" floorboards, "light-filled" living rooms and short "strolls" to the beach, is enough to frustrate even the most experienced buyer.
Walk into any open for inspection in Sydney and you're likely to hear an agent waxing lyrically about its "generous accommodation", "spacious interior" and "cosmopolitan feel". These generalisations also pop up in newspaper and online advertising, leaving buyers confused and disappointed when the property, upon inspection, doesn't quite live up to the agent's spiel.
Jim Prineas, of Ray White Woollahra, says minimal detail is used in real-estate marketing to draw as many potential buyers to the inspections. "Our main goal in advertising is to get people into the property and see if they like it," he says. "So we generalise and when people come and see us or make further inquiries we go into further detail."
Sasha Tasic, of Terry Pfeiffer Real Estate, says cliches are often used as there is little space for description in advertisements. "When you start in the industry at a young age, you just keep looking at what the other agents write and it becomes a bit of a lingo - it's inevitable."
The problem with ambiguous real estate ads is that they often leave buyers with more questions than answers. How far is a stroll? How do you define affordable? And what size might a generous living room be? To help decipher the real estate jargon, Domain asked several agents to explain the most commonly used terms in the industry.
GENEROUS/SPACIOUS
These are purely subjective terms that can only be measured upon inspection. Agents have very different ideas about what these terms mean as they pop up to describe anything from a single-storey terrace to a three-storey McMansion.
Kathryn Morris, of Di Jones Real Estate, says everybody has a different perception of what generous means. "If it's larger than what we might feel is average then it might fall into a category of being generous," she says. Prineas is more specific. "In regards to a generous bedroom, it would have to fit a double bed comfortably in there."
BEDROOMS/STUDY
Which brings us to another potential stumbling block for buyers - what constitutes a bedroom? It's a simple equation: the more bedrooms in a home, the dearer the property, so it's no surprise even the smallest spaces are presented as bedrooms. At a recent inspection in Strathfield of what was advertised as a three-bedroom home, it was appalling to find the "third bedroom" would have been lucky to squeeze in a single mattress. "Two-bedroom plus study" would have been a more accurate description.
Before you bother with an inspection, check the web or ask the agent for a floor plan for a better idea of the property's dimensions.
MODERN/RECENTLY BUILT
"Modern" has been used to describe homes built as long ago as the 1970s. Again, it's a broad term used to disguise the actual age of the property.
"Anything could be modern," Tasic laughs. "Recently built would have to be three years or possibly five years if it's in really good condition. It would have to be a well-maintained, well-presented home."
NORTH-FACING
A north-facing house is most desirable as it receives more natural light than homes with other aspects. But there's often confusion over which part of the house needs to be north-facing. Homes with north-facing sides or north-facing frontage are often listed as north-facing but it's more important for the rear of the house - where the living areas are located - to have this aspect.
"Some agents argue that in a south-facing backyard you can walk to the back of the yard and turn around and you'll be north-facing," says Robert Simeon, a principal of Richardson & Wrench Neutral Bay Mosman.
RENOVATOR'S DELIGHT
Agents think this term will win buyers over as it appeals to our desire to be self-sufficient. While the term implies the lucky buyer will take great "delight" in rewiring the entire house, fixing up the crappy plumbing and replacing the termite-ridden floorboards, it's probably more accurate to call the renovator's delight what it really is: a "money pit" or "relationship-ender". Renovator's delight can also imply that the house is going dirt cheap, but Morris says sometimes an unrenovated property can sell for more than a renovated property as some buyers prefer to work with a blank canvas.
STROLL/CLOSE TO
A stroll suggests a short, leisurely walk but it reveals nothing about how far the home is from a suburb's amenities. Prineas says agents generalise about how close the property is to beaches, parks or shops in order to appeal to a wider market. "We don't know what each person's capability of a stroll is," he says. "A 90-year-old's stroll would be completely different compared to a 30-year-old's stroll." But Simeon says it's more simple than that: "The ads aren't more specific because the agents are lazy and can't be bothered timing it."
The same can be said for the phrase "close to" which is usually in reference to shops, schools and public transport. But how close is close? Is it within walking distance? It is in the same suburb? How many minutes would it take to drive? Put these questions to the agent and find out the exact distance from the house to the amenity. Or hop in the car and time it yourself. Also beware the danger of being too close to transport. Does the property back on to the railway line or is it right next door to the train station? Remember, the street directory is the house-hunter's best friend.
POTENTIAL
Ever wondered what STCA means? It means you should beware, the agent is selling potential, or the equivalent of selling thin air.
STCA is an acronym for "subject to council approval" - a disclaimer for any number of wild and fanciful renovations that could potentially be carried out. A second storey could produce sweeping harbour panoramas, or rear-lane access could lead to much needed off-street parking. But be careful. Just because the agent says it's possible doesn't mean the council will approve it, or that the heritage listing that the agent forgot to mention will be lifted.
SOUGHT-AFTER
This one is designed to appeal to a buyer's competitive side. If the home is said to be in a "sought-after" or "blue-ribbon" location, more people will want to buy it and the agent can justify a higher asking price. Tasic says that while it's an overused term, researching recent sales in the area can test whether the agent's claim is accurate.
"That would be a street where your figures show good capital growth and performance. It's also a street that's quiet, close to the bay or park or any facilities that appeal to the residents."
VIEWS/GLIMPSES
Some agents tend to be most deceptive when it comes to views. They have trouble distinguishing between a glimpse and a view, often referring to one when it ought to be the other. Rarely is a panorama the full 180 degrees.
"It's like when someone says water views and you end up going to see the chiropractor after you've left because your neck's out of place looking for it," says Simeon. "Water glimpses are like trying to see the Pacific Ocean from Ayers Rock."
Beware the zoom lens too, because what appears in the ad to be a dominant part of the view may in reality be nothing more than a speck on the horizon.
FUNCTIONAL
Here is another ambiguous term which often refers to the working areas - the kitchen or bathroom - of unrenovated homes. At its most basic definition, functional will mean that the water is flowing and the gas or electricity works, but it says nothing of the quality of finishes in the room. Are the tiles falling off the walls? Is the shower screen cracked? Does the lino floor need replacing? McGrath's Brent Courtney tries to explain further: "Functional to me would mean that it's functional but it's not new. It's not totally renovated - it works, it functions."
PRICE GUIDES/AFFORDABLE
One buyer's idea of what's affordable won't necessarily be another's - it's a relative term that also depends on the suburb. What's deemed affordable in one suburb may not equate to another, yet agents use this term all the time. They also prefer to be as general as possible when quoting price guides so don't be surprised to come across vague terms such as "in the vicinity of" or "mid-to-high". It's about keeping it as general as possible so the buyer sets the price.
On the whole, the real-estate industry does not set out to deliberately deceive buyers and most agents market their properties responsibly. Simeon says deceptive advertising only hurts the vendor and, in the long run, the agent.
"All that happens is someone attends the open for inspection, they point out the mistake to the agent, and then they walk away with a very bad impression of the whole inspection - it's self-defeating.
"You can't do it because you're dealing with intelligent human beings and they have a mouth and 100 friends."
CAUGHT IN THE SPIN
Glenn Howard and Georgina Kelly, pictured, came across plenty of agent-speak in their two-year search for a house in Paddington.
"When we'd go to visit a property we were pretty disappointed because the property didn't really match the write-up," Howard says. "I wouldn't say they were dishonest but they were always trying to give it the positive spin."
They recall one particularly disappointing inspection they attended. "It looked a lot bigger in the pictures and when we arrived at the house we thought, 'we can't fit our furniture in here'," Howard says.
"[The agents] used the word 'expansive' a lot, which was interesting because a lot of the properties I went to were absolutely miniscule," Kelly adds.
They eventually bought a two-bedroom terrace in Glenmore Road through Ray White's Jim Prineas, who, they are quick to say, did a fantastic job.
