Picture Sarah, a promising real estate agent in Denver, is wondering why her beautifully maintained Victorian property hasn’t received a single inquiry in three weeks. The property’s presentation could be the key to its success, rather than the property itself.

Marketing real estate takes a lot of time and effort, but the payout makes it worthwhile. However, experiencing low sales or having few prospects approach your listings can be quite frustrating. Poor traffic on your property ads costs you resources and profit in the long run. So, agents put their all into ensuring their real estate ads display the maximum appeal.

Yet, you may be behind why your property ads aren’t performing well. That’s because many agents are so focused on selling, they break certain marketing and presentation rules. We’ll explore the common mistakes professionals make in real estate listings. You’ll also discover how to avoid them and correct your existing ads.

Why Are Real Estate Listings Prone to Mistakes?

The property industry manages a vast amount of data. You sift through a lot of information, ranging from locations to room sizes, utilities, and prices. Doing this by hand can lead to many errors. After all, there’s only so much the human mind can house.

But even with automated tools, real estate listings still face certain problems. For instance, unmatching data can cause the automated tool to create duplicates. Other times, it may pull outdated data, especially for little-known locations. Third-party sources may also contain omitted information, which automation may not notice.

Then, there’s the issue of varying real estate laws across states. Having so many regulations to comply with may cause agents to overlook crucial details. Multiple real estate listings reflect these misrepresentations, whether by error or intention. This negatively impacts the brand’s reputation, resulting in lost prospects.

Common Listing Mistakes by Real Estate Agents

Most times, real estate agents don’t realize their mistakes until it’s too late. However, you can prevent this issue by identifying the most common mistakes. Knowing what to avoid helps you prepare for improvements. Additionally, it keeps you aware of the future, ensuring you never repeat mistakes.

Poor Location Research

Meet Maria, a realtor in Portland who listed a property as “walking distance to downtown” without realizing the neighborhood had no sidewalks and required crossing a highway. Her oversight led to multiple canceled showings and damaged her credibility. Strong location research would have revealed that while the property was physically close to downtown, accessibility was a major issue.

The biggest mistake you can make as a realtor is not studying a property’s location before listing. This factor plays a crucial role in marketing real estate, and not just for price. Some properties hold certain traditional values and appeals that can attract prospects. Other high-end property listings may feature magnets like historic references or proximity to popular sites.

Plus, proper location research helps you understand the natives and locals. It improves your pitch’s emotional effect by giving it a relative voice. Skipping this means your commercial real estate listings will sound generic.

Confusing Information

Consider this real-life scenario:

* Original listing: “Charming cottage with endless possibilities!”

* Reality: A tear-down property requiring $200,000 in renovations

* Result: Wasted time for both agents and prospects who expected a move-in-ready home

Many real estate brands don’t realize they present confusing information until it’s demonstrated. The common ways include:

• Misspellings of Property Factors: For instance, your listing’s misspelling of a location’s name could cause issues. Imagine an ad saying “New York Apartments For Sale,” only to mean the property is in York, Maine. Considering the effort and resources spent on that misinformation, prospects won’t be coming back.
• Misleading Language: Many real estate listings exaggerate property features to attract sales. Others include fancy words to infuse a luxurious aura into their ads. These only damage the brand’s reputation because they fail to deliver on the promises made.
• Excessive Texts: Due to the abundance of information in commercial property listings, many realtors may overuse descriptions. Having prospects skim through heavy texts can discourage interest in your ads.
• Too Much Industry-Specific Terms: Prospects aren’t running property searches with a technical mind. Therefore, overloaded private real estate listings with industry-specific terms will only confuse prospects.
• Inconsistent Details: Human error is a common occurrence in life. Therefore, it may go unnoticed when you input incomplete data into your listings. Areas include room specs, location descriptions, or price displays across different pages.

Information is an essential element of a property listing. So, making any of these errors can attract disapproval and reduce sales.

Poor Photo Presentations

James, a real estate agent in Sacramento, experienced this lesson firsthand. He listed a stunning $1.2 million property using phone photos taken on a cloudy day. The dark, grainy images made elegant marble countertops look dull and cheap. After switching to professional photos with proper lighting, the same property received three offers in a week.

The most successful property sales occur when clients enjoy a “show, don’t tell” experience. That’s why many real estate listings feature pictures of their offers. Clients get to evaluate its unique features to decide if it’s the right fit.

But when you use low-quality pictures, clients lose the chance for a detailed view. Plus, using too many pictures can tire them out during evaluation. Most realtors also suffer when their real estate listings don’t include drone shots. These are crucial for establishing the property and its location’s unique appeal.

Ignoring Renovation Needs

Remember, you won’t close a property deal with pictures alone. Most prospects request a physical inspection to strengthen their decision. Even real estate listings featuring videos attract prospects to the website.

Imagine their reaction when they discover shingles protruding from the roof. Even minor details like missing shower heads or chipped paint can cast doubt on a realtor’s honesty. Plus, it forces the idea that the purchase price isn’t the only cost they’ll sustain. Most clients start crunching invisible numbers on how much such repairs will cost.

Skipping Property Staging

Two identical condos in the same building in Seattle tell very different stories:

* Condo A: Unstaged, empty rooms; listed for 45 days.

* Condo B: Professionally staged, it sold in 6 days for $30,000 above asking price.

Property buyers often project their vision on prospective real estate listings. This is why they require visual aids such as pictures and videos to gain a clear understanding of the property they are considering. By analyzing the space, utilities, and environment, they imagine how the house can become their home.

However, a cluttered site will prevent this from happening. Disorganized property views generate a negative response from prospects. The main reason is that clutter takes away from the property’s potential. Additionally, numerous real estate listings have demonstrated the effectiveness of staging as a marketing strategy.

No Virtual Tours

Advancing technology has brought many impressive tools to the real estate business. One of the most exciting tools is the use of virtual tours in marketing. These 3D walkthroughs feature the listing’s highest potential. So, real estate listings without virtual tours lose out on sales.

This is primarily due to the widespread adoption of these marketing strategies by numerous brands. Some virtual tours also feature AR and VR technology for a more immersive experience. How can regular pictures and videos, especially for commercial property listings, surpass this level of immersion?

How to Avoid Mistakes in Real Estate Listings

Knowing the common real estate listing mistake is half the battle. How can you avoid these common mistakes and improve your marketing? Here are a few suggestions:

Consider Professional Photography

Your target is well-lit, high-quality images that showcase the property’s best features. Additionally, consider incorporating drone photos to enhance the appeal of the location. Your best options are experts with experience in real estate photography. But if you can’t afford them, do it yourself with a high-quality camera.

Double-Check Information

This is especially crucial for commercial real estate listings. Make sure to clearly and truthfully express every detail. Cut out heavy texts and technical terms. Keep your copy short, clean, and truthful. Give estimates on details when necessary.

Run a Price Analysis

Note every aspect that influences the property’s listing price. Then run a comprehensive market analysis to reach a realistic price. You can also compare similar real estate listings around you.

Infuse Emotion

Change the description from “3-bed, 2-bath house near the park” to “sun-drenched family home where your children can walk to the neighborhood park; perfect for weekend picnics and making lasting memories.” Feel the emotion? When running ads, run deep research on the location’s history and culture. Infuse these elements in your listings to create an emotional magnet. Consider a storytelling approach for descriptions. Some real estate listings also excel by attaching potential scenarios to the property’s best features.

Never Overlook Staging

Declutter potential listings and set up the space with furniture and decor. But keep the staging generic so clients can project their visions upon arrival. If you can afford to, hire professionals for this purpose. Staging enhances private real estate listings and pulls clients faster.

Invest in Virtual Tours

These 3D walkthroughs are especially perfect for high-end property listings. Also include options for furnishing edits, so prospects can visualize their dream home.

Renovate Before Inspection

Check and run every necessary renovation before the property inspection. Don’t ignore any detail; the smallest can discourage a potential deal. Inform the sellers of its importance and agree on how it affects the listing’s price.

How We Can Help

North South Tech understands the financial impact of listing errors in real estate. Our data validation engine helps real estate professionals maintain listing integrity by automatically cross-referencing property specifications, preventing duplicate entries, and keeping information synchronized across your marketing channels. We handle the technical aspects, freeing you up to concentrate on closing deals.

For real estate teams looking to elevate their digital presence, we help you host a secure cloud platform for managing high-resolution photos, virtual tours, and property videos. Our intelligent staging visualization solution lets your clients see furnished spaces without physical staging costs.

Fix listing errors that drain your revenue. Talk to a solutions architect from North South Tech to see how our tools streamline your property marketing workflow.