Must-Have Tools for Better Real Estate Listings

First impressions matter. A lot. As a real estate agent, you know this.

In today’s residential market, online listings are overwhelmingly the first impression you’ll get for a property. Potential buyers can rule out a property just based on the listing alone. If you’re struggling to get a nibble on a property, you can usually attract more buyers with improved listings.

Below, we’ll review real estate listing tools for better marketing, including top software for creating high-quality property listings.

Virtual Walkthroughs

During the COVID-19 pandemic, home buyers became absolutely spoiled by virtual walkthrough technology. It rapidly became a new expectation for high-quality listings.

Aside from attracting more attention to your listings, virtual tours can also protect you from wasted time. Most window shoppers are weeded out by a 3D walkthrough, and 360 tours also help buyers focus on properties that are likely to be a good fit. No one enjoys the walk of disappointment through a house that doesn’t meet their criteria.

At this point, the market is still thick with options to choose from, ranging from DIY 360 tours captured on your phone to specialized camera rigs. There are many alternatives to explore in both ways to capture your walkthrough and platforms to show it off.

Professional Photography

It’s easy to believe you don’t need separate photos if you already have a 3D tour, but the truth is that a lot of walkthrough software distorts the imagery and can be off-putting in 2D.

The best way to give potential buyers an accurate and appealing sense of the space is to combine a virtual walkthrough with professional-looking photography – the more photos the better. Buyers expect a detailed look at a home online so they can determine whether or not it meets their specific needs.

Notice we said “professional-looking.” Professional photography can be an excellent investment for certain properties. Using an expert means getting professional expertise in lighting, angles, and times of day, and they often have access to enhancement options like post-processing software and drone photography.

That said, sometimes a pro is out of the budget. Even if you go DIY, there are steps you can take to improve your real estate listing photos.

No matter how you approach it, a robust and high-quality set of imagery

Detailed Listing Data

There’s no such thing as too much data in today’s online listings. Just as people will filter potential properties by the images available, potential buyers expect to get a comprehensive picture of the home in the description.

Comprehensive descriptions are definitely the way to go. That being said, be strategic about what information goes where.

There are three sections of an online listing to consider: the headline, the description, and the features list. Think of those in the reverse order as a narrowing funnel for information.

The features list should be comprehensive. If potential buyers don’t see an item listed, they’ll often assume that the property doesn’t have it, and then you lose an interested party. At the same time, you need to make it easy to find particular points of interest. If the platform allows you to group certain features together, do so area by area. If it forces everything into one big list, try to put the most sought-after features at the top and the less critical ones at the end.

The detailed description should be several paragraphs highlighting anything that would attract someone to the home. Consider all the features of value or interest about the home’s amenities, layout, significant recent updates, outdoor space, and neighborhood, then narrow it down to the most attractive.

The headline should be a condensed “wow!” statement advertising the most attractive selling propositions of the home. When the platform doesn’t support a headline, use it as the one-sentence initial paragraph of your description. This will grab people’s attention and get them to read further.

Vivid Listing Copy

Optimizing your listing isn’t just about the information you include but how you frame it.

Once you’ve decided which features are worth highlighting in the written description, consider the overall picture you want to paint of the home. Consider:

• What is special about this property? How does it stand out from similar properties?
• What is the overall personality of the house?
• What would the average buyer love about it?
• How could this property solve likely buyers’ problems or improve their lives?

Now you know what you want to convey about both the big picture and the details. Frame the information as a pitch for what the home can offer the reader and paint a picture of their future lives after purchase. Be specific and choose evocative language. Use words like spacious, charming, cozy, peaceful, and sanctuary.

But above all, be truthful. Don’t use a word just because it sounds good. You want to paint an accurate picture or you risk setting up unrealistic expectations and wasting everyone’s time.

Real Estate Aggregator Sites

No matter how carefully you craft your listing, widespread distribution is the only way to actually increase lead generation with effective listing tools. This means posting your listings on real estate aggregator sites like Zillow and Trulia.

They’re not only the first stop for most buyers, but they’re also something of a hobby for the general public. Although rare, an outstanding listing can even go viral, attracting thousands of viewers.

These sites are the best way to broadcast your listing to a large audience. Unlike more generic marketing solutions that agents have used in the past, potential buyers will have the flexibility to filter results at a very specific level, which brings your property to the attention of the buyers who will take an active interest.

Stock Your Knowledge Toolbox with Online Courses

One of the most essential tools for successful real estate agents will always be knowledge. There are so many topics to master while trying to build a lucrative career in real estate, but sometimes education is easy to shove to the side in favor of the hustle.

That’s why online, self-paced courses like ours are the perfect solution for squeezing your education into your busy schedule. In addition to our popular pre-license courses, we have a huge catalog of approved continuing education courses in many states, including Texas, California, and Florida. Enroll today!

Written and Published by: VanEd