Writing a compelling real estate listing will help ensure that your listing generates interest and produces showings that result in a sale. Your listing is the primary way you’ll promote your property to potential buyers. It must catch the readers’ eye and pique their curiosity.
Here’s the Hook
Two things that immediately capture the buyer’s eyes are the listing’s headline and the photo. The headline should be concise and grab the buyer’s attention within a second. Strong headlines emphasize features that will benefit buyers. For example, the selling price, the home’s overall condition, location, or key features, such as over-sized bedrooms, a large garage or a pool are benefits that can be mentioned in the headline. If you include the price in the headline, prospective buyers will immediately know if the home is within their price range.
Consider Your Opening
The opening statement of the real estate listing should begin by highlighting two or three of the home’s strongest features in one or two sentences. State the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and note additional things that make the home stand out, such as the neighborhood, an ample area for gardening or proximity to shopping or medical centers.
Don’t Leave It to the Imagination
The description of the real estate listing outlines the home’s primary features and describes what homebuyers will get for the price. Don’t leave any positive aspect of the house to the buyer’s imagination. You should include all of the basic information that the buyer seeks such as: number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, homes square footage, lot size, home’s location, size of the garage and any recent renovations that the home has undergone.
Keep It Concise
When you write your real estate listing, make the property sound interesting, but avoid using “fluff” to increase the word count. Fluff words are non-descriptive in nature. For example, writing that the home is “lovely” or the buyer’s “dream home” doesn’t offer useful information. Because buyers’ tastes and preferences vary, it’s best to avoid using empty adjectives. Instead of using non-descriptive words in your listing, focus on words that provide valuable information, such as “tree-lined street.” The reader will instantly know that the street has ample trees, shade and curb appeal. Don’t focus on colors or home decor, because those things can be changed after purchase.
Learn how to write a closing statement that leaves your readers wanting more in our Clean Slate post!
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