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By Catherine Sherman

Why do some homes sell for a premium? Timing, for starters. But an analysis in the book Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate also reveals listings with certain keywords tend to sell for more than expected.

Bottom-tier homes described as luxurious tend to beat their expected sale price by a whopping 8.2 percent, write co-authors Spencer Rascoff and Stan Humphries. Top-tier homes described as captivating tend to beat theirs by 6.5 percent.

If one of the following words accurately describes your home, you might want to consider adding it to your listing. (Curious about words to avoid? Skip terms like cosmetic, investment and nice.)

As mentioned above, lower-priced listings with the word luxurious sold for 8.2 percent more on average than expected. Luxurious signals that a homes finishes and amenities are high-end. This is a huge selling point, particularly in this price range.

Top-tier listings described as captivating sold for 6.5 percent more on average than expected. Unlike the word nice, captivating is a richer, more enticing description for buyers. Plus, its less open to interpretation. Anything can be seen as nice, but captivating sets a high bar.

On average, listings in the bottom tier with the word impeccable sold for 5.9 percent more than expected. Like captivating, impeccable is a rich adjective. It also implies something about the quality of a home: The features are desirable and the home is move-in ready.

Stainless is typically used to describe kitchens with stainless steel appliances. Its in your favor to talk up these features in your listing especially if your home is in the bottom price tier. In our analysis, lower-priced homes with the word stainless sold for 5 percent more on average than expected.

On average, lower-priced homes with the word basketball sold for 4.5 percent more than expected. This may seem like an odd word to include in this list, but when you consider the context it makes sense. Among lower-priced homes, a basketball court or even better, an indoor basketball court is a huge selling point. While it may not stand out as much among higher-priced homes, its definitely worth mentioning in this price range.

Its just as valuable to describe your yard as your house. In all price tiers, listings with the word landscaped sold for more than expected on average. The biggest premium was seen among lower-priced listings, which on average sold for 4.2 percent more than expected.

In the same vein as stainless, granite is typically used to describe a high-end home feature. Listings with the word granite sold, on average, for 1 to 4 percent more than expected across all price tiers.

Not only should you include high-end home features in your listing description, you should also mention features not found in every home. They will help your listing stand out, especially if buyers are searching for homes online by keyword. The data shows mid-priced listings with the word pergola sold for 4 percent more on average than expected.

Was your home recently remodeled? It may be worth mentioning. On average, bottom-tier listings with the word remodel sold for 2.9 percent more, middle-tier homes for 1.8 percent more and top-tier homes for 1.7 percent more than expected.

While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a beautiful feature like a view may be worth noting. Lower-priced listings with the word beautiful sold for 2.3 percent more on average than expected.

Gentle may seem like a weird adjective to have in a listing description. Its typically used to describe gentle rolling hills or something about a homes location. Top-tier listings with the word gentle sold for an average of 2.3 percent more than expected.

You may think all homes are spotless when a buyer moves in, so its not worth mentioning in a listing. But when it comes to lower-priced homes, cleanliness isnt always a given. In this price range, listings described as spotless sold for 2 percent more on average than expected.

Much like stainless and granite, tile is a great word when it comes to describing the features of your home. A newly tiled backsplash or updated bathroom tile not only indicates a homes aesthetic value but also sends a message to buyers that the home has been well cared for by the current owners. Bottom-tier homes with the word tile in the listing sold for 2 percent more on average than expected.

On average, lower-priced listings with the word upgraded sold for 1.8 percent more than expected. Most buyers will agree that upgrades are a selling point. They indicate a home not only looks nice but also functions well. Spelling out which features have been updated is a good approach, so buyers have the right expectations when they see your home.

Updated sends a similar message to upgraded. But in addition to speaking to the quality of a home, it signals that something old has been replaced with something new. This is a great fact to communicate to potential buyers, as evidenced by the data. Mid-priced homes with updated in the listing sold for 0.8 percent more on average than expected.

Source: Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate