Listing Description Mistakes That Cost Agents Showings

Here's something that doesn't get talked about enough: most listing descriptions are bad. Not offensive, not obviously wrong—just forgettable. They read like they were written on autopilot, and buyers treat them accordingly.

I've read thousands of these things over the years, and the patterns are depressingly consistent. The same vague adjectives. The same structure. The same failure to tell buyers anything useful about what it actually feels like to live in the home.

The good news? These mistakes are fixable. And because most of your competition won't bother fixing them, doing the basics well puts you ahead.

Starting with square footage and bedroom counts

Open any MLS and you'll see this: "This beautiful 3 bed, 2 bath home features 1,847 square feet of living space..."

You've already lost them.

Here's the thing—buyers already know the bed/bath count. They filtered for it. They can see it in the listing details. When you open with information they already have, you're wasting the most valuable real estate in your description: the first sentence.

The first line needs to give buyers a reason to care. What makes this place different from the twelve other 3/2s they've looked at today?

Maybe it's the light. Maybe the backyard backs up to a preserve. Maybe the previous owners were architects and every detail shows it. Lead with whatever makes someone stop scrolling.

Instead of: "This 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home offers 2,200 sq ft of living space in a desirable neighborhood."

Try: "Morning light floods the kitchen from three directions—something you'll notice the moment you walk in."

Adjective overload

Beautiful. Stunning. Gorgeous. Spacious. Lovely.

These words mean nothing anymore. They've been used so often in listing descriptions that buyers' eyes skip right over them. When every home is "stunning," no home is.

The problem with generic adjectives is they ask buyers to trust you instead of showing them evidence. Why should they believe your kitchen is "gorgeous"? They've seen plenty of kitchens described that way that turned out to be builder-grade and dated.

Specific details do the work that adjectives can't. Instead of saying the backyard is "beautiful," mention the mature oak that shades the patio in summer. Instead of calling the kitchen "updated," name what's actually in there: quartz counters, soft-close cabinets, a six-burner range.

Details are persuasive. Adjectives are noise.

Writing for search engines instead of humans

I get why agents do this. You want your listing to show up when someone searches "pool home Scottsdale" or "downtown Austin condo walkable." So you cram in keywords wherever they'll fit.

The result reads like it was written by a robot having a stroke: "This pool home in Scottsdale features Scottsdale's best pool home amenities with a Scottsdale location near Scottsdale shopping..."

Search optimization matters, but buyers are the ones who actually schedule showings. A description stuffed with keywords might rank well, but if it reads like spam, you've won the battle and lost the war.

Use your target keywords, but use them naturally. Once or twice is plenty. After that, focus on writing something a human being would actually want to read.

Burying the good stuff

Most descriptions follow the same structure: start with basic facts, list features room by room, end with location details. It's logical. It's also boring, and it often buries whatever makes the property special.

If the house has a killer view, don't save that for paragraph three. If there's a detached casita that's perfect for rental income, lead with it. If the sellers just spent $80K on a new roof and HVAC, that's headline material—not a footnote.

Think about what would make a buyer's ears perk up if you were describing this place to a friend. That's your lead.

The copy-paste neighborhood paragraph

You know the one: "Conveniently located near shopping, dining, and entertainment, with easy access to major highways and top-rated schools."

This describes approximately 70% of all homes for sale. It tells buyers nothing they couldn't guess.

If you're going to mention location—and you should—be specific. Name the park that's a five-minute walk away. Mention that the coffee shop on the corner has a cult following. Note that the elementary school runs a Spanish immersion program.

Generic location descriptions suggest you don't actually know the area. Specific ones suggest you do. Buyers notice the difference.

Ignoring the emotional angle

Real estate is a practical purchase, but it's also an emotional one. People aren't just buying square footage and bedroom counts—they're buying a vision of their life.

The best listing descriptions tap into this without being cheesy about it. They help buyers picture themselves in the space. What's it like to have coffee on that patio? To host Thanksgiving in that dining room? To work from home in that office with the built-in bookshelves?

This doesn't mean writing flowery prose. It means being specific about experiences, not just features. "The covered patio faces west" is a feature. "The covered patio catches the sunset—you'll end up out here most evenings" is an experience.

Writing one description for all audiences

A downtown loft appeals to a different buyer than a five-acre horse property. A fixer-upper attracts different people than a turnkey renovation. But many agents write every description the same way.

Think about who's most likely to buy this specific property. What do they care about? What are they worried about? What would get them excited?

First-time buyers want to know about low-maintenance features and move-in readiness. Investors want numbers: rental history, HOA fees, cap rate potential. Families want to hear about the school district and the size of the backyard. Empty nesters want single-story living and proximity to their grandkids.

You can't please everyone. Write for your most likely buyer.

Forgetting to proofread

This one's simple, but it's worth mentioning because it happens constantly. Typos, grammatical errors, inconsistent capitalization, sentences that trail off mid-thought...

These mistakes don't just look unprofessional. They make buyers wonder what else you've been careless about. If you can't be bothered to spell-check a listing description, will you catch the errors in a contract?

Read your description out loud before posting it. Better yet, have someone else read it. Fresh eyes catch things you'll miss.

Listing features without context

"New roof (2023). New HVAC. New water heater."

Okay, but why should the buyer care? New compared to what? How does this affect them?

Features matter when buyers understand their benefit. A new roof means no surprise expenses for the next 20 years. A new HVAC means lower utility bills and better air quality. A new water heater means endless hot showers.

Don't assume buyers will connect the dots. Connect them yourself.

The wall of text problem

Some agents write listing descriptions that look like term papers. Paragraph after paragraph of unbroken text, no formatting, no visual breaks.

Most buyers skim listings on their phones. A wall of text is exhausting to look at. They'll skip it entirely and just look at the photos.

Keep paragraphs short—three or four sentences max. Use line breaks. Consider bullet points for feature lists. Make it easy to scan.

When agents complain that buyers "don't read descriptions," what they often mean is "I write descriptions that are hard to read."

Making it about yourself

"I'm proud to present..." "It's my pleasure to offer..." "Contact me for a private showing of this exceptional home..."

Buyers don't care about you. They care about the house. Every word spent talking about yourself is a word not spent selling the property.

This includes excessive self-promotion, brokerage branding, and anything that shifts focus from the home to the agent. Save the marketing for your website and social media. The listing description has one job: make buyers want to see this house.

Getting consistent

The hardest part about writing good descriptions isn't knowing what to do—it's doing it consistently, listing after listing, when you're busy and tired and just want to get the thing posted.

Some agents build templates they customize for each property. Others batch their writing when they're fresh. Some use tools like ListPilot to generate a starting draft they can edit, which cuts the time investment significantly.

Whatever system works for you, the goal is the same: make every listing description count. Because in a market where most descriptions are forgettable, the ones that aren't get more attention.

And more attention means more showings.