Fresh out of NYU with a Masters degree in Old English literature (Chaucer) and a love of linguistics (inherited from my father), I began raising my family in Teaneck. As my children got older I had more free time to connect back to my love of language and for fun I began scanning the real estate section of the Sunday New York Times (print edition). I was struck by how many different synonyms could be conjured up to describe different characteristics of a house for sale. A modest home, for example, with three bedrooms and one bath, used such buzz words as “charming,” “cozy,” “sweet,” “opportunity for expansion” and, of course, “tea for two.”

I can’t say that my real estate career was solely due to my attraction to the challenge of language but I am continuously surprised by how much I have come to rely on language as a key tool in facilitating real estate sales. Case in point, I would not have envisioned a weekly column recounting all the amazing things that have happened in my life as a realtor, but here I am.

I was reminded of my earlier interest in real estate buzz words because of an article I read in the WSJ this week on the Metaverse and the future of business. How important will language-based advertising be when all one has to do is put on a pair of VR goggles and walk through all the listings in a particular town in a matter of minutes? The tech giants of the world are so intent on creating an alternate reality in which we will be able experience all that life has to offer—how soon before showing houses, let alone advertising, becomes a digital experience?

I’ve begun talking with some of my team at V&N about these latest technologies and utilizing them to position our clients advantageously. It’s a long way from sitting at my kitchen table with a thesaurus and coming up with different ways of saying “fixer upper,” but I must say it is still quite exciting!

Nechama Polak is broker of record and owner of V and N Group LLC, located at 1401 Palisade Ave, Teaneck: [email protected] 201 826 8809