How to Write a Great Real Estate Listing

How to write a real estate listingWhen it comes to talking describing your listed properties, remember that words sell. While it’s essential to take great pictures of a house, it’s just as important to provide a write a short but meaningful description of your listed properties. Follow these tips below to write a great description of the houses you are trying to sell.

Too Much Information
Research shows that the average consumer sees about 5,000 commercial messages a day. Between pop-up ads, television and radio commercials and traditional print advertisements, we are becoming oversaturated with information. And this does not even include email, text messages, video chats, instant messaging, and social networking! Experts say that the human brain encounters nearly 400 billion bits of information a second, but we are only aware of about less than 1% of that information.

Where to Begin
Start by writing down all the features of the house. Include details such as a chef’s kitchen, renovated bathrooms, new appliances, and even square. You may want to include proximity to schools, public transportation, and parks.

Time to Edit
The next step is to take all of those great facts and details and pare them down. Delete redundant phrases, cross out extraneous words and flowery language. Then, edit some more.

K.I.S.S.–Keep it Short and Simple
Apply the “K.I.S.S.” principle to your content—keep it short and simple. People aren’t going to spend the time reading long descriptions of a house. They’ll glance at the words and move on. Write a quick blurb of the house in as few words as possible. Do a word count. Aim for about 50 words.

Words Pay
Choose your words carefully. Studies show that certain words help a property sell for more money in less time. Try to incorporate these adjectives into your property descriptions to generate interest from potential buyers. Which words should you pick? Check out the list below and use it as a “cheat sheet” to help you craft the best description of the properties that you represent.

Beautiful
This word has impact, so use it! All buyers want to live in a beautiful home.

Landscaping
Things like curb appeal and lovely landscaping attract attention and increase the value of the home. Some reports suggest that the word “landscaping,” helps sell the property 20% faster. Of course, don’t use the word if it’s not true.

Turnkey
Turnkey, means that buyers can move in without making any major renovations. Many buyers can’t make expensive changes to their new homes, especially after putting down hefty down payments.

Handyman Special
At the same time, a lot of people like to get their hands dirty. Some customers like to work with their hands and repair, renovate and remodel a house.  “Handyman special” appeals to a certain demographic, just as “turnkey” attracts another type of buyer.

Must-See
The phrase “must-see” does a couple things for you. It expresses immediacy. It’s a call to action. In some ways, “must-see” also says that this house is a “hot property.” Customers must see this house before it gets scooped up.

Headlines to Consider
Consider the impact of the following headlines on your real estate postcard:

  • “Charming Cottage”
  • “Beautiful Bungalow”
  • “Magnificent Mediterranean”
  • “Prestigious Location”
  • “City Living at Its Best!”
  • “Wonderful Water Views”

Be Honest
Keep your wording honest, accurate and positive. You don’t want to alienate customers before they even consider buying. Otherwise, you’ll create a bait-and-switch scenario and end up with dissatisfied customers.

What Not to Say
The law specifies that is unlawful to discriminate against people by race, color, religion, national origin, gender, handicap and familial status. You could get prosecuted or sued for using these terms and certainly for violating these laws.

Phrases that Pay
By keeping your descriptions short, accurate and simple, you’ll potential buyers to your listed properties. And isn’t that the name of the game?

BestPrintBuy.com provides print and marketing solutions for real estate agents and their franchises. We offer online design and print solutions for business cards, postcards, postcard mailing and marketing, folded note cards, door hangers, note pads, bookmarks and several other products to real estate agents.