What's in a Name?

Alluring: powerfully and mysteriously attractive or fascinating; seductive.

From Twitter:

Williamsburg Homes: The Estates at Clarksville offer alluring estate homes on 3 acre homesites in Howard County.

The use of the word alluring in the context just doesn't make sense to me. Adjectives I'll allow: big, large, spacious, perhaps stately or majestic. But alluring? I'm just not feeling it. Do a Google image search of the word alluring.

My results--photo after photo of attractive women in sexualized poses, revealing clothing, come-hither gazes aimed at the viewer. Look at the house. Now look at them. Now, back to the house.

Does this make sense to you?

I know that creative use of adjectives is a part of the realtor's toolbox. But this one just seems a bit hilarious to me. People looking to buy a house may want one that feels like home to them. Or they may be looking to impress, to use a house for entertaining or even business functions. They may be looking for a bigger house due to a growing family or multi-generational living arrangements.

But how many people looking for a house want to be seduced? By a house? The next step after that will be the judgers who come along calling your house a tart, or promiscuous, disreputable, or downright "distracting". Sex sells, or so they say, but perhaps my problem is merely that I don't see anything remotely sexy about this house.

Realtors out there should feel free chime in and share the psychology of home buying if that would explain the use of this particular word. I'm willing to be enlightened. Right now I'm shaking my head.