How to write a good property description

People always say that first impressions matter. That’s why you want to make sure when you list your property to sell, you present it in the best light possible.

Some estate agents may write it for you but it’s best to check it over for accuracy and any changes you may want to make. Alternatively, you could be creating the listing yourself and could use this blog maximally.

The key features people care about

When you're looking at selling your property there are a few features you need to accentuate, the features that people care about to ensure that a property meets their criteria.

Before reading our guide which details how to write an in depth and quality property description, you first need to understand exactly what people are looking for.

When people are viewing property, here is a typical checklist they may have in their mind:

• Bedroom sizes

• Kitchen & bathroom quality

• Size of the garden

• Location

• Amount of rooms

Generally speaking, these are the main elements of your property that you should make the most of when you come to list it on any property portal. There are a couple other key details that might make be a deciding factor in the sale, such as:

• Double glazing

• School catchment areas

• Style & décor

• Original features

• Central heating & boiler age

The potential buyer will be looking at these things in case there is anything that would be costly needing to be replaced in the near future.

The components of a property description

Right, now lets dig into exactly what a property description entails. There are three main elements to any property description, and in each part you need to try and convert the buyer to enquire.

• Basic details: This is the initial snippet that you see on popular property portals, it details the amount of bedrooms, type of house and location which you have no control over. It does however show a snippet of your description, which we'll dig into later.

• In-depth description: Once you go into the listing itself you are able to see a full in depth description of the property and all of it's key features.

• Pictures & Features: The other main part of your listing is the photos, in which you can detail some of the main features of the property.

Basic description

As we touched on a little earlier, in the basic description you get details like the amount of bedrooms, type of house and location, as well as a small snippet of the descriptions and photos of the property.

Now you might be sat there thinking, well that's just generated by what you put in your listing, and you're not wrong. What it means though is that those first few lines of your listing need to be as punchy as possible, highlighting the main features and aspects of the property and the few pictures it shows need to be the best ones - preferably of the front of the house as well.

On the search page, you're competiting with all the other comparable properties in your area, so you have to try and make yours stand out as much as possible in order to get them to actually click into the listing.

Tactics like capitalising certain features in the beginning of the description can help. We would also suggest the first two photos to be the front of the house & your bathroom or kitchen, whichever looks better, as these are generally the main rooms people are interested in.

In-depth description

This is the detailed description within the listing itself, it usually contains everything about the property from the amount of bedrooms to main features. Here's a few tips and tricks of what to include:

Elements of A Property Description

There are a couple of main elements that make up your main property description, here's an overview:

• Headline title: It depends on what service you use, but if you get given an editable headline, then you want to ensure that you're making the most of it to catch the eye. Be professional and specific with your headline, it has to be effective and capture the attention quickly.

• Property information: This goes without saying, but don't leave any of the property information off. If it has an occasional room, a walk in cupboard or an en-suite, mention it!

• Details: This will be within your property description, and what we mean here is go into detail. You might not think that someone cares that you've recently recarpeted, or that you've got a new boiler in the last year, but they do, make sure you leave no stone unturned when it comes to amplifying your properties features.

• Call to actions: This is important, and one thing that people often forget. Throughout your description the whole objective is to get the potential buyer to enquire, so lead them that way, sprinkle in the estate agents number, and try and convince them "it must be seen to be believed!".

Accuracy

Never be dishonest about your property. Claiming it’s bigger than it is or in better condition would only result in a waste of your time and the other party’s when it came to a viewing. It’s best to be as accurate as you can, and even mention the bad points of the property but in a way that turns it into positives such as being a fun project to fix.

Adjectives

Descriptive words are a brilliant tool to add some life to your property description. Beware not to overuse adjectives though, as this can come across as distracting or less believable. It can be a hard one to balance, but if you manage it you should be able to reap the rewards.

Terminology to avoid

There are certain words which are commonly used in property descriptions to mask issues. For example, the word ‘cosy’ often insinuates ‘small’.

There’s been a study on detrimental words for a property listing, which include ‘fixer’, ‘TLC’ and ‘cosmetic’. These all indicate that lots of work is needed on the property, which isn’t what everyone is looking for.

Furthermore, they may result in buyers thinking there is plenty of room to negotiate on price because this or that needs fixing. If your property does actually need lots of work doing to it, then you can use these words but be sure to price it appropriately.

Words you should look at including, only if appropriate, are those associated with luxury. For example ‘an impeccable first floor bathroom’ or a ‘landscaped garden’.

Pictures & features

The pictures of your property are one of the most important features of your listing, if not the most important.

Unique features

If there are any unique features in your property, don’t forget to highlight them. For example an original fireplace, or stained glass.

Grab potential buyers’ attention with high-quality professional photos. Taking photos on your phone will likely not look as great as a professional camera.

Many estate agents will take these photos for you.

High quality images

This should go without saying, but your selling a house, it's an expensive transaction for any buyer and one of the most expensive their likely to make in their lifetime, don't cut corners by taking some photos on your mobile phone.

Make sure you get a proper photographer or good camera to take the photos so the images are high quality, it could make a huge difference to the amount of people that get to the stage of viewing your property.

Take LOADS of photos

More the better. Cover every angle of every room and don't leave any out.

If rooms are left out of the sets of pictures, buyers might be wondering why, if there's anything hidden that you don't want to show them.

The more photos you have the more they can get a feel for what the property is actually like, it also means of the viewings you get you're a lot less likely to get people who aren't interested.

Fisheye lense

An old trick in the photography book. Have you ever wondered when looking at property listings why rooms look so much bigger than they actually are?

It's usually because estate agents, some not all, will use a camera with a fisheye lens. This provides an ultra wide angle that makes the room seem much larger than it actually is, as it see's a lot more than a standard lens.

Is your house still not selling?

Have you considered alternative routes to selling than the open market?

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