The Definitive Handbook on Grammar, Syntax, and Real Estate Writing

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When you first got into real estate, you probably expected to do a lot of math (calculating square feet and commissions), market analysis (for pricing and client advisory services) and even interior design (helping sellers with staging and helping buyers envision the potential of a space). What you may not have realized is just how much writing would be required.

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From property descriptions to offer cover letters to promotional postcards and more, real estate writing is a significant part of the day-to-day for most agents and brokers. I’ve rounded up some of my best advice to help you refine your writing and express yourself with more confidence.

Note: This article is a roundup of past grammar and syntax-related information. Each section’s subhead is linked to its original version.

As a former English teacher, I didn’t believe in handing back an essay drenched in red ink, marking every single error in a student’s paper. Instead, I wrote at the top: Doing these two things will immediately improve your writing. Then, I would only mark the instances of those two errors wherever they occurred.

As a student progressed throughout the year, they would correct those common errors, and I would begin identifying others. This created a plan for systematic improvement rather than overwhelming the student with too many corrections.

We all have our individual pet peeves — those writing errors that make us cringe. Unfortunately, we also all have our own grammatical blind spots — errors that we make over and over, especially if we’re tired or in a hurry.

The first step in refining your writing is to identify those errors you make the most and proofread just for those. Proofreading shouldn’t be a one-time thing. Proofread once for spelling, once for your most common errors, once aloud for flow and redundancies.

Not sure what errors you’re making? Consider working with a copyeditor or writerly friend who can help you identify your frequent slip-ups. In addition, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Don’t rely on spellcheck or grammar fixers exclusively

It is great to run spellcheck before you submit a piece of writing or hit Send on an email, but these can only go so far. If you have used the wrong word but spelled it correctly, spellcheck won’t really help you.

For example, If I write “Gorgeous interior sputters and custom window treatments throughout” in a property description, spellcheck may not see the problem. That’s because “sputters” is a real word, even though it’s not the one I intended.

Remember, spellcheck and grammar checkers are tools, not the whole plan for refining and editing your writing.

2. Read backward to catch spelling mistakes

When you’ve been working on a piece of writing for a while, your brain starts to fill in the blanks, reading on autopilot and overlooking errors.

If you want to catch spelling errors or other mistakes, read backward. This will take away the context and allow you to look at words individually, catching more mistakes along the way.

3. Know your conjunctions

One of the most common mistakes I see online involves errors related to conjunctions, including its/it’s, your/you’re, and there/their/they’re. The confusion arises with the apostrophe, which usually indicates possession but in these cases indicates a conjunction — the joining of two words together.

• Its indicates possession while it’s is a conjunction for it is or it has.
• Your indicates possession, while you’re is a conjunction for you are.

For there, their and they’re, remember the following:

• There indicates location and is a matching set with here.
• Their indicates possession and contains the word heir, one who receives or possesses an inheritance.
• They’re is a conjunction for they are.

4. Master possessive vs. plural

Flip the script when you’re making nouns possessive by adding an apostrophe-s. To make a word plural, add -s or -es in most cases.

In case you were wondering:

• molding/moulding: Both are actually correct, depending on where you are. Trim Guide tells us that “molding,” as in “crown molding,” is the proper U.S. spelling, but the term originated in the U.K., where it’s spelled “moulding.”
• crepe myrtle/crape myrtle: Referring to the pink or purplish Asian shrub with crinkly petals, the consensus is that both spellings are acceptable. A passage from Garden.com indicates that the plant’s scientific name is lagerstroemia, or crape myrtle. “Crepe myrtle” is a traditional Southern spelling that draws from the flowers’ resemblance to crepe paper.

1. Property descriptions

Of course, mistakes can be embarrassing in MLS copy or can even cause you to inadvertently make a false claim about the listing. One of my favorite examples is a property description that boasted about the home’s spacious “panties” instead of “pantries” — creating a titillating, albeit comedic, effect that was surely not what the agent or client would have wanted.

Here are a few of the most hotly debated grammatical issues that come up in property descriptions.

To ampersand or not to ampersand?

Many agents find ampersands (the “&” symbol) tacky or overly casual, while others see them as a necessary way to save two characters on short MLS descriptions.

While there is no hard and fast rule, you may find it easier to avoid the issue by limiting the use of “and” in descriptions. Consider the following options:

• Resort-style amenities include heated pool, tennis courts and playspace.
• Resort-style amenities include heated pool, tennis courts & playspace.
• Resort-style amenities include heated pool, tennis courts, playspace.

Option three saves the most room and keeps you from using the ampersand altogether.

Anthropomorphic houses

If there’s one syntax issue that riles up agents more than any other, it’s the home that’s personified as “boasting” about its fixtures and finishes. While this one is a matter of (strong) opinion, there are plenty of ways to avoid this usage, including offers, features, includes and contains.

Exclamation marks

Some people just love exclamation marks! They feel that they provide a great deal of enthusiasm and enhance tone! Many of us use them in texts and emails to sound friendlier, then include them in MLS descriptions as well! Isn’t that awesome!?!!

Seriously, please don’t do this. If you must use an exclamation mark, limit yourself to one mark per property description, only if the sentence is truly exclamatory.

Leaving out necessary commas

While every character is precious when you only have a 510-character limit, there are times that you simply need a comma. While a final comma may be optional in a list, it may improve readability in other parts of the description.

Read the description aloud and, if a pause or break is needed, don’t be afraid to use a comma.

All caps, occasional caps or title case

MUCH LIKE THE EXCLAMATION MARK, MANY AGENTS FEEL THAT ALL CAPS INFUSE A PROPERTY DESCRIPTION WITH ENERGY. IN REALITY, HOWEVER, IT GENERALLY FEELS LIKE SOMEONE IS SHOUTING AT YOU. LIKE RIGHT NOW, DON’T YOU FEEL LIKE I AM YELLING? I’M NOT, JUST FOR THE RECORD, BUT IT FEELS THAT WAY.

I Have Also Seen Descriptions That Were, Inexplicably, Written In Title Case With Every Word’s First Letter Capitalized. No, Just No.

Splitting the difference, there are Descriptions that feature Random Capitalizations, much like those in the Declaration of Independence. Presumably, these are included in order to Highlight some of the most Important and Prominent features. I don’t find them very effective.

Excessive abbreviations

You know what people love? A 2br 2ba co-op on a cldsc w/ eik feat st st appl, hdwd flrs, Cth & CrMs.

In all seriousness, don’t make people wade through and try to interpret your abbreviations because in most cases, they won’t bother. You don’t have to fit everything into your MLS description.

In many cases, you can include descriptive captions on your photos or add a more thorough description as an attachment for the buyer’s agent to share.

Language that is all flour and no meat

Some homes are so sun-drenched and inspiring that, as the last tendrils of daylight drift across their Western exposures, the agent becomes positively lyrical, tenderly bringing forth descriptions burnished with such poetry that they become practically incomprehensible.

Here too, figurative language is not your friend, and buyers will not spend their time puzzling out the literal features of the home through your purple prose. Favor a more straightforward approach that highlights the home — not your artistic instincts.

Timeliness

“Won’t last long!” loses its impact when the listing has been on the market for 82 days without a nibble. If you include time-sensitive information or calls to action in the description, set a reminder in your phone to go in and remove them in a timely manner.

Fair housing violation

All jokes aside, one of the biggest mistakes agents make is to inadvertently violate fair housing guidelines with their property descriptions. Remember, phrases like “family home,” “walk to shops” and “close to churches” carry implications about the type of buyer who’s preferred for a home or neighborhood.

Evaluate your go-to phrases for property descriptions, and make sure that they are not carrying unintended messages that seem to exclude some house hunters.

2. Social media posts

Social media, of course, is rife with errors. Perhaps it’s because people tend to post on the run or because they’re using their phones instead of a computer. Either way, we tend to see more errors and more problems with punctuation, spelling and syntax.

Sometimes, these typos can result in embarrassing errors, undermining your credibility and making you look rather silly. Sometimes, however, they can create serious problems, like this Australian agent whose missing apostrophe in a Facebook post may end up costing him hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Far beyond embarrassing or even costly errors on social media are ill-advised, inflammatory posts that undermine your credibility, your ability to serve clients and the reputation of the industry as a whole.

While some advocate a separation of personal and professional communication, hate speech, slurs and other discriminatory and bigoted language call into question an agent’s ability to abide by the code of ethics and fair housing laws no matter where it appears.

3. Email and texts

Emails and texts offer a host of opportunities for errors and simple, downright rudeness. While there aren’t as many etiquette rules to remember when it comes to texts, it’s generally considered a good idea to let someone know who you are and where you’re from when you’re texting them for the first time. This gives them a chance to add you to their contacts.

While many people think of texting as a much less formal type of communication, when you’re using it for professional purposes you should follow the same communication standards that you would with a messaging or email platform.

Spell out words, and don’t use an excessive number of emojis — one happy face at the end of the message is entirely sufficient.

Email communication should be more formal and include both a greeting and a signoff. Make sure to proofread your emails since they are frequently referred to again and again or archived for later reference.

In addition, make your subject lines descriptive enough to give people a sense of your purpose when you send an email. While it’s easy and quick to make “Hi!” the subject line for every email you send, it makes it more difficult for people to go back and find the correct email later or to know when you need an urgent response.

Finally, know which type of communication works for which type of topic. For a quick, on-the-go answer to a question, text or a messaging app may be entirely sufficient. However, for more complex discussions or for sending important documents, email is probably a better choice. If time is of the essence, consider prompting the recipient via text to check their email.

If you’re interested in integrating AI capabilities into your content creation process, perhaps the easiest place to start is by taking a look at your workflow and content spend, if relevant. In other words, if you’re outsourcing content, are there places where AI can help? If all of your content is DIY, how can you use it as a tool to streamline the process of content creation?

For example, I have a client who used to reach out to me regularly for short content: An email to a colleague, an Instagram caption, some quick copyediting. With ChatGPT, that client is more confident in the quality and accuracy of his content, so he doesn’t have to wait for me to help with smaller projects. That frees up time and money in his marketing budget to hire me for bigger projects. Great use of AI.

I use AI as well, not to create content wholesale but to explore the building blocks of content. I ask ChatGPT for search-engine-optimized keywords and outlines. If I’m struggling with the title for a blog post, I ask for 10 clickbait versions of the boring title I’ve asked