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The estate agency industry is fiercely competitive and now more than ever agents are relying on their website to capture the attention of potential buyers. Sure, your homepage is important. It’s your shopfront and you should pay mind to making it engaging and captivating. But what about your property details? I hate to say it, but I often come across poorly laid out property details pages. You know the ones; a wall of text, extreme over-use of capital letters and uninteresting text.
Why is it important to create engaging property details pages?
The answer is simple. Your property details pages are essentially your product pages. Your product is a house and a house is a pretty important purchase for any prospective buyer.
Let’s consider we are the buyer of a new television. We likely wouldn’t purchase a television from a website that made it incredibly difficult to decipher the specifications of the new television. We might deviate to another website if the pictures of the television we were trying to purchase were grainy or there was no clear way of how to purchase the item.
It is no different when buying a house. You might argue that the viewing is where you get a buyer on board, but what about getting them to that viewing in the first place? Your property details pages are a powerful marketing tool for your houses and your agency. Let’s explore how to make them as effective as possible.
What 6 steps can I take to make my property details pages more engaging?
Compelling Property Descriptions:
A common mistake when writing property descriptions is to simply highlight the features of the property. Using descriptive and compelling property descriptions can bring the imagery on your property details page to life. Let’s take a look at the examples below:
Example 1:
“3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house for sale in a quiet neighborhood. Features include hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, and a fenced backyard. Close to schools and shopping.”
Example 2:
“Discover your sanctuary in this charming 3-bed, 2-bath home. Gleaming hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances elevate the interior, while a fenced backyard offers private relaxation. With top schools and ample shopping nearby, this is the perfect blend of comfort and convenience. Don’t miss your chance to call it home!”
It would be difficult to argue that the description in example 2 isn’t vastly more compelling than the description in example 1. The property description in example 2 not only highlights the features of the property but also evokes emotion and imagination. Example 2 creates a sense of urgency and excitement that entices the viewer to schedule a viewing.
This is all well and good, but finding the time to hand craft beautifully written text can be a challenge, particularly if you have a large portfolio of properties. If this sounds relatable, you may wish to use AI to help you write property descriptions. There is a fine balance between using AI to support your creativity and over-using it. Therefore we’d recommend ensuring that you tweak any AI generated content to make it appropriate and use it more as a guide than a copy and paste exercise.
The Property Hive AI Property Descriptions Feature
Back in December 2023 we released ‘AI Property Descriptions’, a feature available with our Pro subscription packages. Essentially, the purpose of this feature is to allow users to create more than one property description in order to avoid duplicating content on their website and third party portals. Nonetheless, the tool is undoubtedly useful for supporting with content creation.
High Quality Photography
First impressions are everything when perspective buyers are browsing for houses. The most important thing that you can do to keep the immediate attention of your buyer is to display first class photos and imagery. If you can afford it it’s definitely worth investing in professional photography to showcase your properties in the best possible light. High resolution images that draw focus to key features and unique selling points will increase engagement and interest from potential buyers.
If hiring a photographer is not an option for you, don’t fret. Although you can’t expect to rely on your smartphone to produce the standard of image suitable for displaying on your website, you can pick up a decent camera for a fair price and go DIY. Simple online research will produce plenty of tips for taking great estate agent photos, giving you tips on aspects such as lighting and angles. Couple that with a bit of commitment and practice and you’ll be taking great shots in no time!
Include Key Details
Ensuring that you have included all relevant information in a property listing is crucial. Let’s revisit our earlier example of purchasing a television. Put yourself in the buyer’s position; would you buy a product that didn’t contain information on the specifications that you were looking for? The answer is likely no. It’s no different when it comes to houses, if not, even more so. Therefore, do get the basics right and make sure that all of the information about a property is available in a listing. Also ensure that the information is easy to find and it’s simple to decipher.
Have Clear Call to Actions
Do not underestimate the importance of including a clear call to action on your property description pages. It seems simple, but agents often don’t present them well or omit them altogether. A call to action helps your buyer to the next stage of their buying journey and is a great way to create a sense of urgency. Whether it’s booking a viewing, requesting more information or contacting your agency directly, make sure there’s a clear way to do so and make the buyer want to do it!
Include Local Information
We recently published a blog post about area guides and how they can be used to engage potential buyers. Using relevant area guides and highlighting the benefits of the location can be just as important as highlighting the features of the property itself, especially for buyers who prioritise lifestyle and convenience. Try including information about the local area and amenities such as schools, transport and clubs on your property pages. Link to the relevant area guide if you have them available and if not, do consider putting some together! You can read more about the benefits of area guides in this article.
Andrews Estate Agents
Consider Your Layout
A cluttered or confusing layout can frustrate users and drive them away from your website. A well designed layout enhances the overall user experience by making it easy for your visitors to find the information they need quickly and efficiently. Earlier we spoke about the importance of including key details on your property details pages. Do make sure that you organise these details in a clear and structured way that makes it easy for potential buyers to digest them at a glance. This avoids frustration and saves time during their property search.
Have you ever considered using a page builder to help with your property details pages? Property Hive now offers support for Divi, Bricks Builder and Elementor. WordPress page builders give you the option to easily customise your property details pages for maximum impact and effectiveness. They’re a great option if you don’t want to dive into the code, but still want to give your property details pages that unique edge. If you’re comfortable with code, Property Hive is fully customisable so the sky really is the limit. Head over to our Showcase Page to see some awesome examples of what’s possible with Property Hive.
To get started with Property Hive, you can download our core plugin for free. We also offer a 7 day free trial with our Pro subscription packages so you can take all the features for a whirl before you commit!
