What is the point of property descriptions?

The Background

I’ve read a few posts/ articles recently where people have been less than complimentary about the humble property description. And, as someone who loves putting descriptions together (and for some properties I have even hired a copywriter to help me do justice to a property), I’m genuinely puzzled by this.

Back in the day we all giggled at ridiculous room descriptions like ‘compact and bijou‘, and I still can’t get over descriptions that shamelessly announce ‘this house further benefits from central heating‘! It’s the 21st Century, I would hope it has Central Heating, that’s not a benefit!

But despite this whether a description is good or bad, I’m reading it, and here’s why I think every seller should pay close attention to the description of their property.

Who actually reads property descriptions?

Rental property descriptions – nobody reads them. I can’t tell you the number of times I agonised over a description only to find out during viewings that I was the only one who had read it! There’s only so many times you can say ‘yes, that’s highlighted in the description’, before you have to give in and accept the fact that you are writing purely for yourself.

With sales it’s a different kettle of fish. Now Ok, nobody says ‘Oooh goody, a new property, let me go straight to the description’. That would be silly.

No, there is in fact a very definite order to these things:

1. Lead photo
2. Summary description
3. Photos
4. Floorplan
5. Features
6. Description

Now that’s not a hard and fast list so, for example, photos and floorplan are sometimes the other way around, but description…… number 6 for almost everyone. And so only those people who made it through elements 1-5, will read the description. How many is that? Who knows, but we always aim to have an offer within 10-13 viewings of a property. So, at the very least 10-13 people will have read the description.

What is the point of the description?

It’s an opportunity to explain to buyers what the benefits are of your home, rather than just the features.

So, for example look at this image of a lounge, and think about the flooring.

A picture paints a thousand words

The photo says:

• White shiny floor tiles (Feature)

The floorplan might say:

• There’s no cupboards or fireplaces (Features)

A feature list bullet-point might say:

• The ground floor has underfloor heating (Feature)

A description might say:

• The underfloor heating on the ground floor, is operated in zones so you only need to heat the room you’re in. (Benefit)
• Underfloor heating means you can position your furniture against every wall without worrying about radiators. (Benefit)

With a description you also get the opportunity to engage with peoples’ emotions and to help them understand what it’s like to live in your home. So, it could also say:

• On a cold and wet day, you can kick off your shoes at the front door and let the underfloor heating warm your feet. (Benefit and lifestyle)

Can you trust what they say?

A quick scan online will show you that different agents have very different thoughts on what makes a description. It’s much the same as with photos – some agents will use the camera on their phone, others will use the office camera, some will hire a professional who will whizz round your house in 30 minutes, others will hire a professional who will take a couple of hours and then be back at sunset to start again.

And just like photos where whatever your equipment, people will be suspicious of wide-angled lenses making rooms appear larger than they are, whether the description is long or short, succinct of fluffy, people will doubt the accuracy –

• So just how close to the station is ‘close to the station’? – 5minutes, 10 minutes or half an hour?!
• Is it really a double bedroom or just a room that could physically fit a 4’6” bed if you never wanted to close the door?
• And exactly what does ‘large’ really mean?

Plus the advent of AI means that quite often the fluffy descriptions have nothing to do with the property in question. For example, I recently saw a lounge described as ‘stunning’ when it had two full clothes horses of wet clothes on display, a curtain coming off the rails, and very little visible floor space.

So, if hardly anyone reads the description and of those that do many don’t believe it anyway, what’s the point?

Buying a home is a big and expensive step and anyone looking to view your property is likely to look at the advert several times before walking through the front door, so as well as high quality photographs and a detailed floorplan, why wouldn’t you take the time to explain the benefits that your home has to offer and how they enhance your life?

Even if buyers take it all with a pinch of salt before the viewing, afterwards when they’re recapping and thinking about your home in comparison to others they’ve seen, they can re-read the description over and over again, they don’t have to remember everything from the viewing.  

And of course, there really is nothing quite like turning up for a viewing in the middle of winter, obligingly taking off your shoes, and having your toes tingle at the heat coming from below!

Set the scene, deliver the reality and people will remember.

Thawing out from bottom up with underfloor heating!