Help your home stand out with a listing description that's creative, engaging, and showcases your home's best features.
When buyers (and their agents!) are browsing online real estate listings, professional photos are what grab their attention first, but it's the listing description that really tells the story of the home.
Listing descriptions are an essential part of real estate advertising, and a well-written one can help your house stand out from all the other listings in your area. Remember, your real estate listing description won't just show up online — it's what will be used on flyers, social media, open house materials and more.
Whether you’re selling your house for sale by owner (FSBO) or want to ensure that your agent has written an effective description for your home, here are the things you need to know about great real estate listing descriptions.
The first thing to keep in mind is formatting. Formatting your description is important because it helps buyers understand your home's appeal and makes it easy to share the unique features that set your home apart.
Your whole description should be 250 words or less, not only because of text space limitations on your local multiple listing service (MLS) and sites like Zillow, but also because buyers are unlikely to read a very long description. Aim to be concise throughout the whole description. Note that some sites have a special field for headlines, and on other sites, your headline will just be the first line of text in your main description field. Either way, you should include the headline in your total word count.
Keep your headline short and descriptive, while focusing on a benefit that is location-specific. If you're using an agent, they should be able to give you some guidance on what's popular in your area, but you can also review other local listings for inspiration. Here are some good examples of headlines that pair location details with something unique about the home:
Your opening statement should answer the buyer’s question, 'What am I looking at?' It should give buyers a reason to continue reading. It's also a great place to showcase features that you couldn't fit in the headline, but that buyers will love. Here are a few examples:
When writing your opening statement, here are some popular features that, if your home possesses them, you should definitely include:
The description text makes up the bulk of your word count, and it's where you should review all of the home's main features: beds, baths, square footage, lot size, location, upgrades, etc. But don't just rattle off a list of all the features. Use compelling, creative language to highlight details that make your home special. Your description should pique buyers' interest enough that they want to schedule a tour, and as the owner, you are in the unique position of being able to tell a story about what is special about the property.
If you're trying to sell your home quickly and want to incentivize buyers, you can add a special promotion to your listing description. Some of the most compelling buyer concessions include:
A call to action is a closing line in your description that tells buyers what you want them to do next: 'Don't miss out on this captivating home. Schedule a private tour today!' Or, 'This home isn't going to last — schedule your showing before it's gone.'
Using the right words in your home description can mean more money in your pocket. That was one of the findings of the book 'Zillow Talk: Rewriting the Rules of Real Estate,' written by Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and Chief Economist Stan Humphries. It highlights some of the listing words that can attract buyers.
Need some inspiration for creative real estate listing descriptions? Here are just a few examples found on Zillow:
Zillow researchers found that mentioning certain keywords in your listing makes an impact on both how much you can sell your home for and how quickly it will sell. Here are a few of the home features that got sellers the most bang for their buck and helped them sell faster:
In the same way that there are words that help your home sell faster or for more money, there are definitely some terms you'll want to steer clear of. Unless you are truly selling your home as a fixer-upper or a flip, avoid these nine real estate marketing words: 'Fixer,' 'TLC' (as in the home needs some TLC), 'cosmetic,' 'investment,' 'investor,' 'potential,' 'bargain,' 'opportunity' and 'nice.' While 'nice' is a positive word, it can be highly subjective. Instead of saying you have an 'older home in need of TLC,' say something like 'A classic abode that can be customized to your liking.' Or instead of 'Calling all investors!' say something like 'Renovated homes on this block are selling for top dollar.'
Here's some data to illustrate the point. Out of 24,000 homes analyzed by Zillow, listings with 'fixer' in the description sold for 11.1 percent less, on average, than expected. Listings with 'potential' sold for 4.3 percent less. And listings with 'opportunity' sold for 2 percent less.
You’ll also want to avoid useless fluff like 'must-see' in your property description. If you find yourself short on space, you can cut down on mentioning the house's main stats, like square footage and number of bedrooms, since those data points are displayed in a different part of your listing, anyway.
Of course, no home is perfect, so you don't want to completely omit less desirable features — especially if they're obvious in the photos. Instead, spin them as a positive or add in some creativity or humor. Here are a few examples:
Your property description should highlight any notable home brands, recent upgrades, and all energy efficiency additions. Don't be afraid to name drop!
In addition to following the guidelines above, consider these best practices for writing property descriptions.
Take advantage of all 250 words available. Zillow Talk found that homes with longer listings consistently sell for more money. And it's not surprising. Buyers want to know the details of your home, and those extra words can give them the additional information they need to decide if your home is one they're interested in seeing in person. But, while some real estate listing sites will let you include many more than 250 words, buyers don’t want to read a novel. Focus on 250 really great words instead of rambling on just because you have the space.
After you're done writing, ask a friend or neighbor who knows your home and the neighborhood to review your description. Have them identify the features of your home that make it unique, and be sure to include those.
New countertops do not equal a full kitchen renovation. Make sure you're being honest about the level or work that was completed.
Potential buyers don't want to feel like you're yelling at them — and all caps and endless exclamation points do just that.
Don't use real estate terminology that the average buyer won't understand.
You may be tempted to abbreviate in order to save space in your listing description, but be careful that you're not sacrificing clarity for space.
| Actual home feature | Don't use this abbreviation | Instead, use these listing words |
|---|---|---|
| central air conditioning | CAC | central AC |
| fitness center | FT CTR | gym |
| 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms | 3/2 | 3BD/2BA |
| formal dining room | FDR | frml dining |
| heating, ventilation, air conditioning | heat, vent, AC | HVAC |
| half bathroom | HB | 1/2 bath |
| natural gas | NGS | nat. gas |
| square feet | SF | sqft |
| available | avbl | AVAIL |
| washer & dryer | lndry | W/D |
| hardwood floors | HDWDFLRS | HDWD floors |
There are some words you won't want to shorten, in case people are searching specifically for that term. Examples include 'waterfront,' 'quartz,' or 'renovated.'
Don't embellish. Buyers know what they're looking for, and if you make your home seem like something it's not, you're just wasting a buyer's time.
It's illegal to mention race, national origin, gender, disability, or familial status in real estate listings. So, that means you can't include things like ,'This family-friendly home is perfect for new parents,' or 'Large makeup of international residents means great nearby restaurants.'
Edit your description for accuracy and grammatical errors. Buyers might assume that a careless listing description means a careless homeowner.
Consider writing 2-3 versions of your listing description that focus on features that appeal to different buyers, so you can swap out if needed.
