How to Compose the Best MLS "Listing Comments" (and Why it Matters) . . . .

By Ron Rovtar

The K Company Realty
Boulder County CO

303.981.1617

I messed up!

I took one of those sales presentation shortcuts that sometimes lead to bad results.

I was explaining the advantages of my communications background and how this would result in better marketing, and, by extension, a higher sales price for a  home.

I offered my years in journalism as a qualification for creating effective marketing copy.

Great listing remarks can separate your listing from
the competition.

Problem was, factual writing has little to do with persuasive writing. And, while I knew this, I took the easy way out.

My prospect pounced.

I don’t remember exact words, but he cited his own college degree in journalism

And, though he reported no experience as a professional journalist, he believed he could write marketing copy equally well. So why would he need a full-service agent?

The answer is simple: factual writing and persuasive writing live in different verbal universes.  But my point was lost and could not be extricated. Neither could my presentation.

Here's the truth every real estate agent should know:

Residential real estate marketing copy should at minimum persuade qualified home buyers they really want to see this home in person.

Beyond this, marketing copy and photos should work together to convince buyers this property will be a very strong contender, even before buyers actually see the home.

"Persuade" and "convince" are operative words here.

Yet the best marketing copy accomplishes even more heavy lifting.

The best copy also instructs. It teaches potential buyers how to see the product, in this case a home.

"Notice the hand-crafted front door." "The first thing you see upon entering this updated kitchen is . . . ." "This home's stingy carbon footprint will save you up to $XXX per year."

In real estate,  the "Listing Comments" are crucial! In my experience, buyers quote these space-limited multiple listing service remarks all the time.

As short as they tend to be, listing comments are among the first items home buyers peruse when skimming a multiple listing service fact sheet. Listing comments also are picked up by consumer real estate websites, which feature them prominently.

Poorly composed listing copy attracts fewer showings. Purchase offers are lost. Properties can fetch lower offers.

Let's be clear. To my knowledge, no one has ever specifically tested results of  "good" vs. "poor" real estate copy. I'm not sure how one would conduct such a test with a unique product like a specific home.

However, advertisers and marketers have for many decades parsed all kinds of persuasive messages for all kinds of products and services. The results are consistent, and convincing.

So, if you are a real estate agent, you will do your clients an enormous service by following some basic rules, making these comments as enticing as possible.

If you are a homeowner listing your home, you should read your agent's comments with a critical eye. You know better than anyone why your home is lovable, convenient, energy efficient, well designed. You know why you bought the home. You know why you will miss it. You are an expert about the neighborhood.

With few exceptions, what you, the current owner, cherish also will impress many possible buyers. Have a conversation with your agent if you think the agent missed an important observation.

Here are important tips to shine up listing comments:

1) Don't tell buyers what they already know. Buyers usually limit their internet home searches by price, size, number of bedrooms, and number of baths.  If they missed one of these parameters, they know where to find it. Other easily found facts include city, school district, street name, and exterior colors. Don't be redundant. Explain benefits. Tell buyers what important features could mean to them. "New, energy efficient windows keep extreme temperatures outside." Tap into emotions. "Imagine how you will feel sipping your morning coffee in this property's beautiful solarium."

2) Do tell the world what makes this home special. Does it back to open space? Does it have mountain or lake views?  Was it recently remodeled? Does it have historic significance? Is the kitchen to die for? Is there room for office, workshop, artists studio or extra storage? Often it is surroundings that sell a home. Recreational opportunities, nearby businesses, access to highways, nearby bus lines and other area features often sway buyers.

3) Place buyers into the picture. "Enjoy nature's solitude walking nearby paths."  "Think of the meals you'll orchestrate in this gourmet kitchen." "Stroll to three of the city's finest casual restaurants."  In each of these statements you ask readers to picture themselves in this house or neighborhood. Is this persuasive? You bet! It's a lot better than placing them outside looking in, which is where strictly factual copy puts them.

4) Offer subjective benefits along with physical ones. Attributes such as comfort, safety, privacy, convenience are hard to quantify. Describe them with concrete examples. "No busy streets to cross on route to neighborhood elementary school." "Walk or bicycle to nearby shops and restaurants." "Highest water quality in the state." "Shaded private patio offers quiet refuge." "Fire station just three blocks away."

5) Be careful about the words you use.  Connotation can overpower denotation. A "community path" between the back yard and a neighbor's back yard speaks of strollers gazing at you as you barbecue.  Conversely, a "green belt" suggests greater separation between homes, and greater privacy.  "Natural surroundings" speaks of trees, bushes and wildflowers.  "Wildlife" can foster concerns of devoured tulips, overturned garbage containers and rodents in the garage. If wildlife is an important positive, be specific. Buyers of rural properties often like deer, birds and butterflies. Bears and raccoons? Much more iffy.

6) Remove superlatives, but use words that evoke emotion. For decades, superlatives (fantastic, great, awesome, etc.) have been vastly overused. Readers ignore them.  But the English language has hundreds of words and short phrases that reach deeper into people's minds and evoke positive emotions. Here are some that can work magic in real estate:  freedom, you deserve, vibrant, imagine, innovative, quality-of-life, equity, a new start, convenience, attention-to-detail, opportunity, guaranteed, no-nonsense, stretch your dollar, free, security, confidence, savvy, your choice, tranquility, sophisticated, dignity, luxury, luxurious, maximum, elegant, success, your success, prosperous, next generation, elegant, safety, liberty. If you pay attention to current advertising, you will come up with more highly effective marketing words. However, used carelessly, some words and phrases can appear to describe illegal discriminatory situations. Be careful about such word choices.

7) Don't try to accomplish too much with your comments. It may be a blessing that many multiple listing services limit the length of listing comments. In his book The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing, George Silverman makes an important point that all marketers should consider.  Silverman suggests the decision to buy is never made in isolation. Instead, it is the culmination of any number of lesser decisions.  Don't try to sell the home before anyone has seen it. You will do best if you concentrate on important early steps. For home buyers, the first big decisions is choosing which homes to visit. During this process they usually start ranking chosen homes into categories from. "This one really could be it," to, "Probably not right for us, but worth a look." So your goal for the comments should be to (1) get qualified buyers to schedule a showing, (2) get them excited about seeing the home, and (3) Suggest what they should especially notice when they arrive. Buyers who form positive opinions early will most likely forgive a few negatives.  But, don't oversell. Don't disappoint. Dashed expectations turn buyers disproportionately negative.

Here are some other considerations. Write simple grammatical sentences. Some fragments are okay, but not if they confuse readers or impeded flow. Trim unnecessary words.  Avoid abbreviations that interrupt the flow as readers figure out what you mean. "'SS?' Oh yeah! Stainless Steel! The fridge. Now where was I?" Don't list multiple features, except perhaps a few bellwether attributes at the end. When you do highlight a feature, describe it in detail. "Thirty feet of cream-colored granite counters with beveled edges." Don't shy from brand names when they speak of quality. Ask a question, but only if you know the answer!

To improve your writing even more, I suggest The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White. By publishing standards, it is an almost ancient volume. But it is inexpensive on Amazon.com. And spending an hour with Chapters Two and Five will improve your writing more quickly than studying some modern titles from cover to cover. 

No kidding!

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Ron Rovtar, is a broker associate at The K Company Realty in Boulder, CO. Please call Ron with all your questionsat 303.981.1617.  To learn more about Ron, please visit his website. For more about life in Boulder County and nearby, check out our facebook page. Ron Rovtar does business as Front Range Real Estate, Ltd.  E-mail Ron.

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This article ©Ron Rovtar