How to Write Property Descriptions with AI: A Step-by-Step Guide for Australian Agents

You’ve just walked out of an inspection. Notes scrawled on your phone. Photos taken. The vendor’s expecting the listing to go live tomorrow.

And now you need to write a description that makes someone — scrolling through hundreds of listings on realestate.com.au at 9:30pm on the couch — stop and actually read yours.

If you’re like most agents, this is where you lose an hour. You stare at the blank CRM field, type something about “stunning family home in sought-after location,” hate it, delete it, and start again. Or you recycle the same structure from your last listing and hope nobody notices. After your twentieth listing this year, they all start sounding the same — because they are.

Here’s the good news: AI can draft a solid, publish-ready property description in about 60 seconds. Not a generic, robotic one. A genuinely good one that captures what makes the property different, speaks to the right buyer, and reads like it was written by someone who actually walked through the home.

But there’s a catch. AI is only as good as what you give it. Feed it nothing and you’ll get nothing useful back. Feed it the right details, in the right way, and you’ll get copy that would take you 30 minutes to write — in under a minute.

This guide walks you through the entire process. From your raw inspection notes to a polished, platform-ready listing description. We’ll use a real example (a fictional but realistic Port Macquarie property), show you exactly what to type into ChatGPT, and cover the platform-specific nuances for realestate.com.au, Domain, and more.

Whether you’re writing your first AI-assisted listing or your fiftieth, there’s something here for you.

Why Most AI Property Descriptions Are Terrible

Before we fix anything, let’s diagnose the problem. Because if you’ve tried using AI for listing descriptions and been underwhelmed, you’re not alone — and it’s almost certainly not AI’s fault.

Here’s the prompt most agents start with:

“Write a listing description for a 3-bedroom house in Port Macquarie.”

And here’s roughly what they get back:

“Welcome to this stunning 3-bedroom residence in the heart of Port Macquarie! Boasting an abundance of natural light, this exquisite family home offers the perfect blend of coastal living and modern convenience. The spacious open-plan living area flows seamlessly to an entertainer’s delight outdoor area, perfect for hosting friends and family. With proximity to pristine beaches, award-winning restaurants, and quality schools, this is coastal living at its finest. Don’t miss this rare opportunity!”

Count the clichés. “Stunning.” “Boasting.” “Entertainer’s delight.” “Seamlessly.” “Rare opportunity.” This description could apply to literally any property in any coastal town in Australia. It tells the buyer nothing about this house, on this street, in this part of Port Macquarie.

The quality of your AI output is directly proportional to the quality of your input. That’s the single most important thing in this entire guide.

When you give AI a vague one-liner, it has nothing to work with. So it falls back on the millions of bad listing descriptions it’s learned from — the same overwrought, adjective-stuffed, say-nothing copy that dominates property portals. It doesn’t know the kitchen has a stone benchtop with a 40mm waterfall edge. It doesn’t know the backyard backs onto a reserve. It doesn’t know you’re targeting young families moving up from Sydney who want space and a slower pace.

Without those details, the AI guesses. And it guesses generically.

The fix isn’t a better AI tool. It’s a better input. And that starts with how you capture information at the property.

The “Inspection Notes to Prompt” Workflow

The agents who get the best AI descriptions all follow roughly the same process:

At the property: Capture detailed notes — not polished sentences, just raw observations. Features, materials, brands, dimensions, the feel of the place, what stands out.
Back at the office: Plug those notes into a structured prompt that tells the AI what to write, who to write for, and how to write it.
After generation: Spend two minutes reviewing for accuracy and adding your personal touch.

That’s it. Three steps. Total time: about five minutes for a description that would have taken 30-45 minutes to write from scratch.

Let’s walk through each step with a real example.

Step-by-Step: From Inspection to Published Listing

We’re going to use a fictional but realistic property in Port Macquarie for this walkthrough. Every detail is the kind of thing you’d find in a typical mid-range family home on the Mid North Coast.

Step 1: Compile Your Inspection Notes

You’ve just walked through the property. Here are your raw notes, typed into your phone as you went:

4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car — single level brick and tile

623sqm block, north-facing backyard

Built approx 2005, well maintained, vendor is original owner

Kitchen — 20mm Caesarstone benchtops, 900mm Westinghouse oven, dishwasher, breakfast bar overlooking family room

Open plan living/dining/kitchen flows to covered alfresco

Separate lounge room at front — good size, could be media room

Master bedroom — walk-in robe, ensuite with double vanity

Three other bedrooms all with built-in robes

Main bathroom — separate bath and shower, floor to ceiling tiles

Covered alfresco area — big enough for 8-10 seater table

Backyard: flat, fenced, plenty of room for kids/pets, side access for boat or trailer

Double lock-up garage with internal access plus workshop space at rear

Ducted air con throughout, ceiling fans in bedrooms

6.6kW solar system (installed 2022)

Quiet cul-de-sac in Innes Lake area

8 min drive to town/Hastings, 5 min to Settlement City, 12 min to Lighthouse Beach

Close to Hastings Public School and St Columba Anglican School

Vendor moving to be closer to grandkids in Brisbane

Target buyers: young families upgrading from a unit, or Sydney relocators wanting space

These notes took about three minutes during the walkthrough. They’re not polished. They don’t need to be. But they contain the specific, property-level detail that AI needs to write something genuinely useful.

Step 2: Build Your Prompt

Now we take those notes and plug them into a structured prompt. This is where the magic happens — not in the AI, but in the brief you give it.

Here’s the actual prompt:

Write a compelling real estate listing description for a single-level brick and tile home in Innes Lake, Port Macquarie, Australia.

Property details:

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 2

Car spaces: 2 (double lock-up garage with internal access plus workshop space)

Land size: 623sqm, north-facing backyard

Built approximately 2005, meticulously maintained by original owner

Key features: 20mm Caesarstone benchtops in kitchen, 900mm Westinghouse oven, dishwasher, breakfast bar overlooking family room, open plan living/dining/kitchen flowing to covered alfresco, separate lounge room at front (good size), master bedroom with walk-in robe and ensuite (double vanity), three additional bedrooms with built-in robes, main bathroom with separate bath and shower (floor to ceiling tiles), covered alfresco fitting 8-10 seater dining table, flat fenced backyard with plenty of room for kids and pets, side access for boat or trailer, ducted air conditioning throughout, ceiling fans in all bedrooms, 6.6kW solar system installed 2022

Target buyer: Young families upgrading from a unit, or Sydney tree-changers looking for space and a slower pace of life

Nearby amenities: 8 minutes to Port Macquarie CBD and Hastings River foreshore, 5 minutes to Settlement City shopping, 12 minutes to Lighthouse Beach. Close to Hastings Public School and St Columba Anglican School.

Unique selling point: Quiet cul-de-sac position with north-facing backyard and boat/trailer side access — hard to find in this price range.

Writing instructions:

Use Australian English spelling and real estate terminology (ensuite, lounge room, alfresco, not master bath, living room, patio)

Open with a strong hook — not the address, not “Welcome to…”

Write 250-320 words

Structure: Compelling opening line → lifestyle paragraph → flow through the home naturally (don’t just list features) → outdoor living and land → location paragraph → closing call to action

Tone: Warm, professional, conversational. Like a trusted local agent who genuinely likes the property.

Use sensory language — help the reader feel what it’s like to live here

Avoid clichés: no “entertainer’s delight”, “sun-drenched”, “nothing to do but move in”, “boasting”, or “nestled”

End with a line that makes the reader want to book an inspection

Do NOT include the price, agent name, or agency name

That’s a detailed prompt. It took maybe four minutes to write — mostly copying your inspection notes and adding a few instructions. Let’s see what it produces.

Step 3: Generate the First Draft

Here’s what ChatGPT returns:

Space, sun, and the quiet life — all on one level.

There’s a particular feeling you get when you step into a home that’s been genuinely cared for. Twenty years of one owner, and it shows — not in dated finishes, but in the kind of quiet pride that keeps everything working, looking sharp, and feeling right.

This single-level four-bedroom home sits in a tucked-away cul-de-sac in Innes Lake, where the pace is slower and the blocks are bigger. Inside, the open-plan kitchen, dining, and family room form the natural hub of the house — Caesarstone benchtops, a 900mm Westinghouse oven, and a breakfast bar that’ll become the spot where homework happens and Saturday morning pancakes get made. From here, bi-fold doors open to a covered alfresco area big enough for a proper table — the kind where Sunday lunch stretches into the afternoon.

A separate lounge room at the front gives you that second living space families actually use — a retreat for the adults or a dedicated media room when the kids take over the main living area. The master bedroom is well-separated from the other three, with a walk-in robe and ensuite featuring a double vanity. Every other bedroom has built-in robes, and the main bathroom is fully tiled with a separate bath and shower.

Outside is where this property really earns its keep. A flat, fully fenced north-facing backyard with room for the trampoline, the dog, and still space to kick a ball. Side access means the boat, the trailer, or the caravan has a home too — a rarity on blocks this size. And with a 6.6kW solar system already on the roof, the power bills won’t be keeping you up at night.

Settlement City shopping is five minutes away. Port Macquarie CBD and the Hastings River foreshore are eight. Lighthouse Beach, twelve. Hastings Public and St Columba Anglican are both close enough that the morning school run doesn’t require a logistics degree.

Properties like this, in streets like this, don’t come up often. Inspect and you’ll see why.

Now that’s a listing description. It’s specific. It’s warm. It paints a picture of the lifestyle without resorting to clichés. A buyer reading this can actually imagine living in this house.

Step 4: Refine and Adjust

Your first draft is good, but maybe it’s not quite right. This is where iterative prompting comes in. You don’t start from scratch — you ask the AI to adjust.

Too long for realestate.com.au?

“Great. Now shorten this to under 250 words while keeping the strongest elements. Cut the school run line but keep the location details.”

Want a different tone?

“Rewrite this with a slightly more premium tone — less casual, more polished. This is a vendor who sees their home as their pride and joy.”

Need to emphasise different features?

“The vendor really wants us to highlight the solar system and low running costs. Weave that in more prominently — the target buyer is cost-conscious.”

Want it shorter for a social media post?

“Write a 60-word version of this for a Facebook new listing post. Include the key hook, the bed/bath count, and the open home time: Saturday 10-10:30am.”

Each refinement takes seconds. Within 2-3 iterations, you’ll have exactly what you need.

Step 5: Final Polish — The Human Touch

AI got you 90% of the way. This last step is yours, and it takes two minutes:

Fact-check everything. Does the property actually have a 900mm oven? Is the backyard genuinely north-facing? Is it really 8 minutes to town? AI doesn’t lie intentionally, but it can embellish or get details wrong if your notes were ambiguous.
Check distances and claims. Run a quick Google Maps check on any travel times or distance claims. Nothing kills credibility faster than telling a buyer Lighthouse Beach is “a short stroll” when it’s a 12-minute drive.
Add your personal knowledge. The AI doesn’t know that the neighbours are a lovely retired couple, or that the street gets a beautiful jacaranda display in November, or that the cul-de-sac is where all the neighbourhood kids ride their bikes. These details make a listing feel real. Add one or two.
Format for your platform. More on this in the next section.
Read it aloud. If it sounds like something you’d say at an open home, it’s ready. If it sounds like something a robot would say, tweak it.

The Before and After: Why Input Quality Matters

Let’s put this side by side so the difference is impossible to miss.

❌ The Lazy Prompt

Prompt: “Write a listing description for a 4-bedroom house in Port Macquarie with a pool.”

Output:

Welcome to this stunning 4-bedroom home in the heart of Port Macquarie! This exquisite property boasts an abundance of natural light and offers the perfect blend of coastal living and modern convenience. The spacious open-plan living area flows seamlessly to the outdoor entertaining space, where a sparkling in-ground pool awaits. With four generous bedrooms and two luxurious bathrooms, this residence is perfect for the growing family. Enjoy proximity to pristine beaches, quality schools, and vibrant dining options. This is coastal living at its finest — don’t miss this rare opportunity!

Problems: Generic. Could be any house in any coastal town. “Boasts.” “Exquisite.” “Seamlessly.” Zero actual property detail. Also — this property doesn’t even have a pool. We said pool because we were being lazy, and the AI ran with it. That’s how hallucination happens.

✅ The Detailed Prompt

Prompt: The full structured prompt from Step 2 above.

Output: The full description from Step 3 above.

The difference: One reads like a template. The other reads like someone walked through the home, understood the buyer, and wrote something that makes you want to book an inspection. Same AI. Same model. Different input. Different universe of output.

Platform-Specific Tips for Australian Agents

You’ve got your description. Now you need to format it for where it’s actually going to be seen. And not all platforms are created equal.

realestate.com.au

The big one. Where most eyeballs land first.

Character limits: The main description allows up to 20,000 characters, but the preview snippet (what buyers see before clicking “read more”) shows roughly the first 150-200 characters. Your opening line is everything — don’t waste it on “Welcome to 42 Smith Street.”
Headline: You get a separate headline field (approximately 80 characters). Use it. A good headline does more work than the first paragraph. “Space, Solar, and a Cul-de-Sac — 4 Bed Family Home in Innes Lake” beats “4 Bedroom House for Sale” every single time.
What performs well: Descriptions that lead with lifestyle and feeling, then follow with features. Buyers on REA are browsing — your job is to make them stop scrolling. Specific detail beats generic adjectives. “623sqm north-facing block with side access for the boat” stops a buyer mid-scroll. “Spacious block” doesn’t.
Formatting: Use line breaks between paragraphs. Walls of text don’t get read. Some agents use bullet points for key features below the main description — this works well for quick scanners.

Domain

Domain has a slightly different audience and format.

Character limits: Similar to REA — up to 20,000 characters for the main description. But Domain’s preview shows a slightly longer snippet, so your first two sentences matter.
Emphasis points: Domain buyers tend to be slightly more research-oriented. Include suburb context, infrastructure proximity, and specific measurements where possible. “12 minutes to Lighthouse Beach” lands better than “close to the beach.”
Headline: Similar character limits. Domain rewards descriptive headlines over vague ones.
Formatting tip: Domain renders bullet points cleanly. Use them for a quick-reference feature list below your narrative description. Buyers who’ve already read the narrative on REA often scan for specifics on Domain.

RateMyAgent

Different beast entirely. RateMyAgent listings are tied to your agent profile, so the description serves a dual purpose: selling the property and showcasing your professionalism.

Tone: Slightly more personal. Buyers on RateMyAgent are often researching you as much as the property. A description that sounds like a real person wrote it (not a template) builds trust.
Length: Shorter works better here. Think 150-200 words. Punchy and confident.
Include your “why”: Why do you think this property is worth buying? One line of genuine agent perspective goes further than three paragraphs of feature lists.

Your Agency Website

Your website is the one platform where you control the format completely.

Go longer. 400-500 words is fine for a website listing. Include neighbourhood detail, lifestyle context, and the kind of storytelling that portal character limits force you to cut.
SEO matters here. Include the suburb name, property type, and key features naturally in the text. “4 bedroom family home in Innes Lake, Port Macquarie” helps Google find you. “Stunning coastal residence” does not.
Add a personal note. A short “Agent’s perspective” section under the main description adds authenticity and differentiates you from portal listings.

Different Property Types, Different Approaches

Not every property gets the same treatment. The tone, emphasis, and structure should shift depending on what you’re selling and who you’re selling to.

Luxury and Prestige

Tone: Restrained and editorial, not breathless. Let the property do the talking. “Soaring 3.2-metre ceilings” says more than “amazingly high ceilings.”
Language: Name brands and materials specifically — Gaggenau, Calacatta marble, American Oak engineered flooring. Prestige buyers expect specificity.
Structure: Think architectural narrative. Walk the reader through the home like a private tour, not a feature list.
Prompt tip: Tell the AI to “write as if this listing belongs in a luxury property magazine, not a portal.” It changes the output dramatically.

Units and Apartments

Emphasis: How the space works, not just how big it is. “Open-plan living with a north-facing balcony that functions as a second room” beats “spacious apartment.”
Location carries more weight. Walkability is everything. Cafés, transport, shops — how many minutes on foot?
Strata details: Mention low body corporate levies if they’re a genuine selling point. Don’t ignore strata — address it positively.
Prompt tip: Include the floor level, aspect, and building style. These details shape the entire description.

Rural and Acreage

Paint the lifestyle first. Morning mist over the paddocks. The sound of nothing. Space your kids haven’t experienced before. Then get into the infrastructure.
Practical details matter. Serious rural buyers want to know about water security (tanks, bore, dam, creek), fencing condition, soil type, shed dimensions, and internet connectivity.
Terminology: “Paddocks” not “fields.” “Dam” not “pond.” “Machinery shed” not “garage.”
Prompt tip: Tell the AI to “balance the romance of rural living with the practical infrastructure detail that serious acreage buyers need.”

Investment Properties

Lead with the numbers. Rental yield, current weekly rent, tenancy status, vacancy rate context.
Position the suburb. Growth drivers, infrastructure projects, population trends. The investor is buying the suburb’s future as much as the property itself.
Tenant appeal: What makes this property easy to lease? Proximity to hospitals, universities, employment hubs.
Prompt tip: Tell the AI the target is “a property investor, not a homebuyer. Lead with the investment case, not the lifestyle.”

Auction Listings

Create genuine urgency without manipulation. “Twelve groups through the first open” is a fact. “You’ll miss out if you don’t act now” is pressure.
Don’t mention price (unless your state’s regulations or campaign strategy say otherwise). Let the description sell desirability, and let the auction create competition.
Include the auction date prominently. And the remaining open home times.
Prompt tip: Add “The vendor reserves the right to sell prior to auction. Create a sense of momentum and desirability without being pushy.”

Making It Sound Like You, Not a Robot

Here’s the real secret to AI listing descriptions that don’t sound like AI listing descriptions: teach the AI your voice before you ask it to write.

We call this the “voice brief” technique, and it’s the difference between descriptions that sound like everyone else’s and descriptions that sound like yours.

How It Works

Gather your best work. Find 2-3 listing descriptions you’ve written that you’re genuinely proud of. The ones that got comments at open homes. The ones buyers mentioned. If you don’t have any you love, use descriptions from an agent whose style you admire.
Feed them to the AI. Before asking it to write your new listing, paste in your examples and say:

“Here are three listing descriptions I’ve written that represent my voice and style. Study the tone, sentence structure, vocabulary, and rhythm. All future listing descriptions should match this voice. Here are the examples:

[Paste example 1]

[Paste example 2]

[Paste example 3]”
Then give your new prompt. The AI will now write in a style that matches your examples — your sentence length, your favourite phrases, your level of formality.

Before and After: The Voice Brief in Action

Without voice brief:

This charming four-bedroom residence offers the perfect combination of family living and coastal convenience. Featuring a modern kitchen, generous living spaces, and a beautifully landscaped garden, this home provides an idyllic setting for those seeking a relaxed coastal lifestyle.

With voice brief (trained on an agent who writes in a direct, slightly cheeky style):

Four bedrooms. North-facing yard. A kitchen that’s actually been updated this decade. And a cul-de-sac so quiet the loudest thing you’ll hear is the magpies arguing over whose bin it is. This is the kind of house you walk through once and immediately start measuring for furniture.

Same property. Same AI. Completely different output — because the AI had a voice to work with instead of defaulting to “real estate robot.”

Why This Matters for Agencies

If you run a team, the voice brief is even more important. Without one, your AI descriptions will sound different depending on which agent prompted them. With a shared voice brief, every listing across your agency has a consistent voice — even if it was written by a first-year agent using AI for the third time.

Set it up once, save it as a template, and share it with the team. Consistency builds brand recognition. Buyers start to recognise your agency’s listings by how they read, not just the logo.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

We’ve helped plenty of agents get started with AI for listing descriptions. These are the mistakes we see on repeat — and they’re all easy to fix.

1. American Spelling and Terminology

This is the most common one by far. AI models are trained predominantly on American English. Left unchecked, your listing will say “neighborhood” instead of “neighbourhood,” “color” instead of “colour,” and — worst of all — “realtor” instead of “agent.”

The fix: Always include “Use Australian English spelling and terminology” in your prompt. And do a quick scan of the output for American English before publishing. Your spell-check should catch most of it if your system language is set to Australian English.

Other Americanisms that sneak in:

“Living room” → should be lounge room or living area
“Master bath” → should be ensuite
“Patio” → should be alfresco or covered outdoor area
“Yard” → should be backyard or garden (context-dependent)
“Countertops” → should be benchtops
“Condo” → should be unit or apartment
“HOA” → should be body corporate or strata

2. Made-Up Amenities and Distances

AI will confidently state that a property is “a short stroll to the beach” when the beach is a 15-minute drive away. It doesn’t know the geography — it’s guessing based on the suburb name.

The fix: Always provide distances in your prompt notes. And always verify AI-generated distance claims against Google Maps before publishing. If you said “close to shops” in your notes, the AI might interpret “close” as walking distance when you meant a five-minute drive.

3. Over-the-Top Adjectives

“Breathtaking.” “Unparalleled.” “Exquisite.” “Magnificent.” These are the calling cards of lazy AI output. They sound impressive in isolation but mean nothing when every second listing uses them.

The fix: Include a line in your prompt that says “avoid overused superlatives.” Better yet, list the specific words you want the AI to avoid. The prompt we used in our walkthrough includes: “no ‘entertainer’s delight’, ‘sun-drenched’, ‘nothing to do but move in’, ‘boasting’, or ‘nestled’.”

Specific beats superlative. “Caesarstone benchtops with a 40mm waterfall edge” paints a better picture than “stunning gourmet kitchen.”

4. Forgetting Platform Character Limits

You’ve written a beautiful 400-word description. Then you paste it into realestate.com.au and the first thing buyers see is a truncated sentence that reads “This meticulously maintained family h…” because your opening line was too long for the preview.

The fix: Write your description to the platform specs. Or better yet, ask the AI to write multiple versions: a full 300-word version for your agency website, a tighter 200-word version for the portals, and a 60-word social media version. One set of notes, three pieces of content.

5. Not Including Compliance Elements

Different states have different disclosure requirements for listing descriptions. In some states, you need to include specific information about the property, the sale method, or the agent. AI doesn’t know your state’s requirements — and it won’t include them unless you tell it to.

The fix: Keep a checklist of your state’s mandatory inclusions and review every AI-generated description against it before publishing. Better yet, include a line in your prompt: “This listing is in [state]. Include any standard compliance elements required for [state] property listings.”

6. Publishing Without Reading It Aloud

If you copy-paste AI output directly into your CRM without reading it properly, it’s only a matter of time before something embarrassing goes live. We’ve seen listings with ChatGPT formatting instructions left in. Listings that mentioned amenities the property doesn’t have. Listings that used the wrong suburb name because the agent copy-pasted from a previous prompt.

The fix: Read every AI-generated description aloud before publishing. If it sounds like something you’d never say at an open home, it shouldn’t be in your listing. Two minutes of review prevents days of embarrassment.

Your Listing Description Workflow (Quick Reference)

Here’s the complete process, condensed:

At the property — capture raw inspection notes on your phone (3 minutes)
Back at the desk — paste notes into a structured prompt with target buyer, tone, and writing instructions (4 minutes)
Generate — run the prompt through ChatGPT or Claude (30 seconds)
Refine — ask for adjustments: shorter, different tone, different emphasis (1-2 minutes)
Polish — fact-check, add your personal touch, format for platform (2 minutes)
Publish — paste into CRM, REA, Domain, and website

Total time: approximately 10 minutes. Compare that to the 30-45 minutes most agents spend writing from scratch — and the description is almost certainly better.

Multiply that saving across 3-4 listings per week and you’re getting back 2-3 hours every week. That’s time you can spend on the work that actually generates commission: prospecting, vendor relationships, buyer conversations, and being present in your market.

Take It Further

If this guide helped, here are two ways to level up:

The AI Listing Machine — our prompt pack includes 12 property-type-specific description prompts (standard residential, luxury, rural, coastal, unit, townhouse, investment, auction, and more), each with detailed fill-in guides and writing instructions calibrated for Australian agents. It’s the complete toolkit version of what we walked through above. No more building prompts from scratch.

Free AI Assessment — if you’re an agency principal looking to standardise how your team uses AI — consistent voice, consistent quality, consistent compliance — book a free AI assessment. We’ll review your current workflow, identify the biggest time-saving opportunities, and build a practical implementation plan. No obligation, no pitch. Just a clear picture of where AI fits in your agency.

For more on using AI in your agency, check out our Complete Guide to AI for Australian Real Estate, or browse our 50 ChatGPT prompts built specifically for Australian agents.

Writing listing descriptions doesn’t have to be the worst part of your week. With the right input, AI handles the heavy lifting — and you add the local knowledge and personal touch that makes the copy yours. Give it a try on your next listing. You won’t go back.