The remarks on the property listing should have one goal: to motivate buyers to want to see your property in person. Here are my suggestions to achieve that goal:
What is best about the property and neighborhood? If you have looked at real estate listings, you have seen poorly written remarks. To write excellent MLS listing remarks, start by creating a list of what you love about your property. Think also about what other people might like about your home: maybe you don't own a dog, but many dog owners would find the dog park down the street a great attraction. Also, don't make your list too focused on the property, consider the neighborhood attractions around the property—the parks, restaurants, shops, views, yearly events, etc. and mention how close they are (3 minute walk to __). If you run out of ideas, ask your neighbors what they love about your area.
Don't assume the viewer knows the area well, many will be from out of town and/or know nothing about the area other than what you tell them. Narrow your list and write. Prioritize your list based on what will be most compelling to the most buyers. You likely will have more items on your list then the remarks will allow. Remember, character counts are rigid, and include spaces and punctuation. Most word processors have the useful “Word Count” (in the Tools menu for MS Word) that also counts characters so you don't need to. Your additional text may be useful for other marketing of your property where you aren't limited by the number of characters.
The persuasive selling mindset for writing. Here is a suggestion for the ideal perspective to take when writing from Realtor.com: Picture yourself getting up in the morning and making breakfast, having friends and family over or taking time to read a good book. Tell the story of what you see and feel, but don’t forget little details that sell the home.
Sample: Morning sunlight pours through the living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows providing a view of a lush tea rose garden. Walk across 100 year old, hand-polished oak hardwood floors to a recently renovated state-of-the-art kitchen. Become the gourmet chef you always dreamed of with stainless steel appliances, black granite counters and a prep island that provides a view to your guests in the living room and a view to keep an eye on the kids playing in the backyard.
Common MLS Listing Remarks Mistakes
Repeating the basics-Avoid restating fields every listing will show and the viewer likely already knows: “4 bedroom 3 bath 2 story” is almost always repetitious. You may want to bring more attention to one of the basic fields in unique situations, “one of the few 3 bedroom units in the development,” but for most properties repeating the basic information is a waste of valuable space on your listing.
Overused real estate terms-Avoid using the adjectives great, beautiful, charming, etc.
Fluffy language-You may want to use your thesaurus for the remarks, but don't just stick any positive synonym for beautiful on every fact you want to list. “Amazing views, excellent porch” is fluffy, “quiet evenings lounging in the breezy porch while the sun sets over your expansive view of the valley” puts a compelling vision in the mind of the viewer.
Over abbreviating-You may have learned real estate abbreviations, but most buyers don't know them and don't care to figure them out. Most viewers aren't studying the listing, they are doing a quick scan and you want the listing to catch their eye and imagination. “Hwd flrs, nat ww” simply doesn't motivate many buyers, “Walk on the solid oak hardwood floor to the craftsmanship of the built in buffet” is much more compelling.
