How to Write a Real Estate Listing Description That Sells

Inspired listing descriptions can sell properties fast. A well-written listing title and description will ensure the property you’re marketing stands out from all the others in your area. 

The first 2 things that grab a buyer’s attention when browsing your listings online are the images you use and the words you choose to describe the property.

Buyers want specifics, so selecting the right words are the key to telling the home’s story. 

Think of it as painting a picture for your buyer.  You want to get the buyer to feel, the words you select should stir emotions and move that prospective buyer to take the next step and book a viewing with you. 

These guidelines will help ensure that your listings stand out from all other agents in your area and get you that viewing appointment. 

#1 – Describe the Property Accurately

It may seem obvious, yet many agents still tend to forget about the importance of doing so.

A vague description sets unclear expectations that could impact negatively on your reputation as a trusted real estate professional. While an inaccurate description could cause you to lose the sale. On the other hand, being overly descriptive won’t do you any good either – your audience might get the wrong idea about your listing.

Here’s an example, remember that you’re selling a lifestyle so highlight the benefits not the features. 

Original: 3 Bed, 2 Bath sits on an acre of land in a cul-de-sac. Huge kitchen! Perfect family home. 

Rewrite: You’ll love this single-family owned home, perfectly positioned for peaceful living at the end of a quiet street. Your children will enjoy endless hours of play in the sprawling garden surrounded by mature trees. Imagine hosting large family lunches in this immaculate eat-in kitchen, complete with breakfast bar overlooking the garden. All situated in a convenient, friendly neighbourhood with outstanding schools.

Make sure that you don’t add any details about the property that aren’t actually true. You don’t want to misguide your audience. At the same time, consider leaving out some of the basic information that is obvious. 

The description is a good place to mention elements that aren’t obvious in photos too, like the fact that the owners have just installed a new 20 year roof. 

Check out other similar listings and see what they contain.

Go over all the same aspects of the property in your description. Likewise, if you see some obvious mistakes in those listings, try to avoid them while writing yours.

#2 – Use the Right Words

Though getting all the correct information about the property is important, the way you word everything is also essential.

You need to use the right words throughout the entire listing to really get all the parts in place and make sure that potential buyers don’t misinterpret anything.

This is where you tell the home’s story. A good place to start yourself off in the right direction is to ask the current owners what they loved most about living in the home. 

Remember that your description should follow and match the order of the photos you include with the listing.

Here are some ways you can work on your wording:

• Choose Adjectives Carefully: Adjectives are great for describing the property in an evocative way. The downside, however, is that you might end up creating an unrealistic picture of what the property is like. Or, on the contrary, you could make the property seem worse than it actually is. So choose all your adjectives carefully.
• Use Words That Provide Value: It’s easy to make your descriptions too vague or insubstantial which is why you need to use more words that have impact and communicate the right information to prospective buyers.
• Avoid Words Considered Red Flags: There are some words that are considered red flags. These words and phrases could drive away or scare your audience which will prevent you from selling the property quickly. For example, words like “Fixer,” “TLC” (as in the home needs some TLC) “bargain” and “potential”.

#3 – Focus on Uniqueness

One interesting technique you might overlook at first is focusing on uniqueness.

Just think about it: there are so many other properties like this. Some of them might be offered for a lower price which could potentially make them more appealing to prospective buyers.

That’s why you need to find a way to persuade your audience that your listing offer is much better and they will benefit from it more.

Focusing on uniqueness can help you accomplish this. The unique element of your property could be anything. Perhaps it’s the park in walking distance where families can spend their time together. Or maybe you have a salt water, heated pool. Your property could be located in a good neighborhood or your house or apartment might have had a makeover recently.

Whatever this uniqueness is, focus on it. If you can’t find a single selling point, try to highlight various peculiar features of the property.  Having several of them will also help you sell your property faster as it will show the property in a good light. And again, chat to the current homeowners about what they most enjoyed about living in the home.

#4 – Proofread and Edit

Obviously, not everyone likes proofreading and editing, but both of them are crucial for creating the best real estate listing you can. Once your listing is written, make sure to check such aspects of your description such as:

• Grammar: Are you using grammar correctly?
• Punctuation: Is all the punctuation in place? Are the sentences simple enough to understand?
• Spelling: Are there any spelling errors? Are you using any rarely used phrases or words that could be misunderstood?
• Reading Score: Is the reading score high enough? Do you have too much passive voice? Do you use too many adverbs and complicated phrases?
• There are many free online resources that can help you with this, like Grammarly.

#5 – Include Visuals

To ensure your real estate description makes an impact you need to include appealing visuals that will grab the attention of your audience.

These visuals are meant to persuade your potential buyers to check out the property by visiting it. Images are important to showcase what the property looks like because descriptions are not always enough to get the full picture.

Be sure to use a variety of visuals. Firstly, use photos of all the parts of the property. Secondly, use videos to enhance the experience and show the space in motion. Thirdly, use schemes and maps to place the real estate in perspective and better explain how the property looks schematically.

All of these will help you persuade your potential clients that the property is the best one for them.

Final Thoughts

All in all, writing real estate listing descriptions is actually not as difficult as it perhaps may seem at first. Use the techniques and resources described in this article to create the perfect listing for the property and sell it to a good buyer for an appropriate price.