They say that you only get one chance to make a first impression, and in the real estate industry — especially now– that’s often true. In such a fast-moving market, buyers are feeling the pressure to make quick decisions on homes that they find online. 

By enhancing your listings with more information, you’ll give buyers the information they need to make a life-changing decision a bit easier. And, aside from the requirements and staying within the MLS guidelines, you can still make the real estate listings more attractive and accessible to buyers with a few more features. Moving beyond only including the address, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, and the list price is one of the best ways to drive more leads.

Read on to discover how you can create listings on the MLS that stand out so you can sell more homes.

How to Create Listings on the MLS that Stand Out

  1. Highlight property details 
  2. Write an engaging description
  3. Utilize clear photos 
  4. Include the floor plan if available
  5. Feature what makes the property unique

Highlight property details

Typical property details include things like what type of heating or cooling system comes with the house, the parking availability, how many acres of land it’s on, and more. In order to help make a listing more appealing to buyers — and to show to sellers that you’re willing to go above and beyond when getting buyers for them — try to include as much information as possible. This means including the quality of the outdoor space, how far the property is from main roads, town or city centers, shopping, what school district it’s in, and more. 

Write an engaging description

Aside from the property details, the listing description is the place where you can paint a picture of what it would be like to live in the home. Include information that’s not already available on the page; talk about what kind of lifestyle fits this property, like vibrant and energetic if it’s in the downtown of a city, or quaint and charming if it’s surrounded by nature in the suburbs. Don’t be afraid to use more creative language and tell the story of the property, while also detailing what makes it so special.

Descriptions should be short and concise, but detailed enough to give buyers insight into the property, feel of the neighborhood, town, or city, and attractions nearby.

Utilize clear photos 

High-quality images are real estate agents’ best friends. Have at least images of the outside of the building, the bedrooms, and living spaces to help people visualize what it would be like to live there, especially if they can’t make an in-person showing. Often, the more images the better. Additionally, when taking photos of the property or hiring someone to do so, make sure that the photos are taken with good lighting and capture the real feeling of the space.

And, if you have the time, add a label to each picture to help buyers identify which rooms are which. You can use a tool like Canva and insert text into each photo on the bottom or lower half of the image.

Include the floor plan if available

As more and more people are buying sight unseen and relying on images and videos of the properties, they want as much information they can get as possible. In fact, according to the National Association of REALTORS Generational Trends Report, 67% of all buyers find that listings that include the floor plan of a property are highly valuable. Floor plans help supplement the usual images and videos by giving a more black and white view of the layout of the house. They can find the dimensions of each room which is great for determining if furniture they already have will fit and the flow of the whole home. 

Feature what makes the property unique

As mentioned previously, people want to know as much about the property as possible. Whether it’s including special elements like office spaces or bonus rooms, in the pictures or writing how the property’s charm mirrors that of a fairytale in the description, be sure to find what makes the property special and highlight it. Especially now with inventory so low and competition still high, people want to be able to easily see what matches their wish list. 

Spending a little more time enhancing your listings on the MLS to give buyers all the information they need about a property before asking for a showing or buying, is a great way to set expectations and establish trust. Plus, sellers will see that you go the extra mile in helping market listings to sell fast.

Want to learn more about the digital marketing strategies for real estate that make your listings stand out? Connect with us today for more specific recommendations to help grow your business.