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Comment by sethg | Hacker News Reader

I can’t think of very many objective criteria that would help someone choose one Realtor®¹ over another. They all get paid the same commission and they all have access to the same database of listings. So it makes sense that they would differentiate themselves from each other by using their handsome faces; what else is there?

¹That HN link to information about third-level keys has changed my life. Possibly not in a good way. :-)

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you can't reference a good link without sharing it, that's just not fair :)

Linux compose key: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=962683

Past data on the houses they've recently sold, and for how much? :/

What data, and how to present that in an advertisement?

Typically in UK adverts you have pictures of houses, summary of details, price, and if it's sold, they slap a big "SOLD" across it.

This shows you how well they can sell, and how much they get for properties. Adverts in papers are typically a full page, so there's plenty of space.

If you see an ad that says “I sold the house pictured here for $300,000”, then for all you know, the guy sitting at the next desk over could have sold it for $350,000.

That logic is quite odd. I'd rather have a data point saying "I sold a house like yours for $300k", than a smiley face. What does a smiley face tell me?

You can’t tell from the picture alone whether or not the house is “like yours” or not. In particular, you can’t compare how much purchasers can negotiate down the price when he or she finds stuff needing repair, or how much the agent can negotiate up the price by convincing purchasers that the floorplan is ideally suited for their special special needs.

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