Why Your AI Listing Descriptions Sound Like Everyone Else's

The Copy-Paste Trap

Here's what happens. Agent needs a listing description. Googles "ChatGPT prompts real estate." Copies first thing they find. Pastes it. Gets garbage. Spends more time editing than if they'd written it themselves.

Then they tell everyone AI doesn't work for real estate.

It does work. They're using it wrong.

What Makes a Prompt Actually Work

Think about prompts like a listing agreement. Leave a field blank, you've got problems.

Five things need to be in every prompt. Miss one and your output suffers.

1. Ask

What do you want? "Write a listing description" is vague. "Write a 150-word MLS description that opens with a lifestyle hook" is specific.

2. Audience

Who reads this? First-time buyers think differently than investors. A condo-dweller upgrading to their first house needs different language than a downsizer.

3. Channel

Where does it go? MLS has word limits. Instagram needs hooks. Print flyers assume photos are visible. Different channel, different format.

4. Facts

Beds, baths, square footage, neighborhood, what got renovated, what makes it different. The more specific you are, the less AI makes stuff up.

5. Constraints

What to avoid. This is where most people fail completely.

The Constraints Problem

AI has default patterns. It learned from millions of documents and most of them are corporate garbage.

Without constraints, you get:

• "Stunning" and "gorgeous" (everyone's listing is stunning, which means none are)
• "Perfect for families" (Fair Housing violation waiting to happen)
• "Don't miss this incredible opportunity" (no one has ever been convinced by this)

You have to tell AI what NOT to do.

Constraints:
- No words: stunning, gorgeous, breathtaking, dream home
- No phrases like "perfect for" anyone
- No "won't last long" urgency
- Fair Housing compliant
- Active voice only

This one section transforms output more than anything else.

The Real Difference

Here's the same property, two approaches.

Lazy prompt:

Write a listing description for a nice house with 3 bedrooms.

Output:

"Welcome to this stunning 3-bedroom home! This absolutely beautiful property features an immaculately maintained kitchen and a gorgeous backyard. Perfect for families who love to entertain!"

That's unusable. Also potentially illegal ("perfect for families").

Actual prompt:

Write a 150-word MLS description for:
- 3 bed / 2 bath / 1,850 sqft single-story
- Mesa Verde, Costa Mesa CA
- 2023 kitchen reno, quartz counters
- Backyard with mature Meyer lemon tree
- 10 min to beach

Target: Young couple upgrading from apartment
Tone: Conversational, not salesy
Avoid: stunning, gorgeous, dream home, perfect for, won't last
Fair Housing compliant. Active voice.

Output:

"Morning coffee hits different on this south-facing patio. The Meyer lemon tree is already producing—your kids will fight over who gets to pick them. Inside, the 2023 kitchen means you're not touching a thing. Three bedrooms, two full baths, and a layout that keeps the playroom noise away from your home office. Costa Mesa's Mesa Verde puts you 10 minutes from the beach, 5 from South Coast Plaza. Ready when you are."

See the difference? Specific input, specific output.

Fair Housing Isn't Optional

Quick note because this matters.

AI doesn't understand legal nuance. It will confidently write things that violate Fair Housing guidelines.

Phrases that create problems:

• "Perfect for young families"
• "Great for professionals"
• "Ideal for retirees"
• School quality claims
• Neighborhood demographic descriptions

Fines start at $23,000. Repeat offenses go to $115,000.

Add "Fair Housing compliant - focus only on property features" to every listing prompt. Then still review before posting.

Feed It Examples

Here's the highest-leverage technique: show AI what good looks like instead of describing it.

Find 3-5 listing descriptions you love. Ones that made you stop scrolling. Feed them to ChatGPT:

Here are 3 listing descriptions I want to learn from.
Analyze what makes each one effective—tone, structure, word choice.
Then I'll give you a property to write in this style.

[paste examples]

AI identifies the patterns. Then you give it your property details and it writes in that style.

This works because you're not asking AI to imagine good writing. You're showing it.

The Editing Checklist

Every AI description gets reviewed. No exceptions.

Fair Housing check:

• No "perfect for [type of person]"
• No school rankings
• Focus is 100% on property

AI marker check:

• Remove: stunning, gorgeous, nestled, boasts
• Remove: dream home, won't last, must-see
• Remove: absolutely, truly, simply

Voice check:

• Does this sound like something I would say?
• Would I be embarrassed if a client knew AI wrote this?

Fact check:

• Square footage correct?
• Bed/bath count right?
• No made-up amenities?

If you can't edit it in 2 minutes, your prompt was bad. Go back and add specificity.

Building the Library

The agents getting real value from AI aren't writing prompts from scratch each time.

They build libraries. Organized by:

• Property type (starter, luxury, condo, investment)
• Platform (MLS, Zillow, Instagram, flyer)
• Length (50, 100, 200 words)

New listing comes in. Pull the matching template. Plug in details. Generate. Edit. Done.

This is how you go from AI-as-toy to AI-as-tool.

The Point

Most agents copy prompts from Google and get generic output. Then they complain AI doesn't work.

It works fine. Garbage in, garbage out.

Five things in every prompt: Ask, Audience, Channel, Facts, Constraints. The constraints section does more heavy lifting than people realize.

Feed it examples of writing you love. Build a library of prompts that work. Review everything before publishing.

That's it. That's the whole system.