This answer applies 3 methods from the guide, led by one.
Explain the consequence, not the jargon
Say what is known, what is uncertain, what changes for the client and what happens next.
- 1Start with the client's decision, not the technical term.
- 2Explain the practical consequence in plain language.
- 3Separate fact, interpretation and uncertainty.
- 4Check understanding instead of asking if it all makes sense.
Hold when: Do not simplify away a material risk. Do not use an unapproved agency or personal voice.
Read it in Broker Brain →Frame the material question
Start with the decision and the evidence needed to answer it, not with a broad search.
Read it in Broker Brain →Match the property to the need
Compare a small set of realistic options using the same confirmed client criteria.
Read it in Broker Brain →There is no secret portal formula
Neither portal publishes a formula that rewards particular words, and we will not pretend to know one. What you control is what a buyer reads when they are deciding whether to open your listing or book an inspection: the headline, the first lines, the photos and the price.
The guide's ‘Explain the consequence, not the jargon’ method starts with the buyer's decision. “Stunning”, “prime location” and “must inspect” tell the buyer how the agent feels, and because most listings use them, buyers read straight past. Facts about what changes for them are what make a listing different from the one beside it.
Frame the facts that could change the decision
‘Frame the material question’ asks which claims could change a decision, and where each comes from. Write them down with their source and date before you draft. The ACCC is clear that agents must give truthful and complete information about a property, including its features, location, zoning and price, and that misleading a buyer is illegal whether or not it was deliberate.
- 01Land and floor area, from the title, plan or survey, not from memory.
- 02Running costs: council rates, water and strata levies or owners corporation fees, each from the latest notice with its date.
- 03For a tenanted home, the weekly rent and when the lease ends, from the lease.
- 04Walking times to the station, school or shops, measured rather than estimated. Do not claim a school catchment you have not checked with the school or department.
- 05Anything you cannot source yet: leave it out and say where the buyer can find it, such as the contract or the strata report.
Write it for one kind of buyer
‘Match the property to the need’ compares options against the same criteria, and a buyer scrolling the portal does exactly that. Write to the criteria they use, in this order. Describe the home and the way of living it supports, never the kind of person who should or should not buy it.
- 01Headline: the one fact that sets this home apart, in plain words. “Three bedrooms, flat fenced yard, eight minutes' walk to the station” beats “STUNNING FAMILY HOME”.
- 02First line: who it suits and why. “Suits a young family: the yard is flat and fenced, and the primary school is a six-minute walk.”
- 03Three to five facts that back that up: size, aspect, layout, parking and what is walkable.
- 04Running costs, each with its source and date.
- 05The honest trade-off: on a busy road, one car space, tenanted until a named month. Say it, and what it means for the buyer.
- 06One next step: the inspection times, the floor plan or the contract of sale.
Keep the price guide within your state's rules
Underquoting rules are set by each state and territory, and they change. These are examples from the two largest markets, checked on 1 October 2026. They are general information, not legal advice; check your state's rules and your principal's policy before you publish a price.
In New South Wales, NSW Fair Trading says the estimated selling price goes in the agency agreement, you must not advertise or quote a price below it, a price range may not be more than 10 percent wide, and terms such as “offers over” or a price with a “+” are not allowed. You must revise the estimate, and the advertising, when evidence shows it is no longer reasonable. NSW says further underquoting changes are expected towards the end of 2026.
In Victoria, Consumer Affairs Victoria says an advertised price must not be below the agent's estimate, the seller's asking price or a written offer the seller has rejected. From 1 October 2026 the Property Price Statement replaces the Statement of Information and must be displayed prominently in online advertising, and for auctions and fixed-date sales from 16 October 2026 the seller's reserve must be published at least 7 days before, as a single dollar amount. In Queensland, an “offers over” price must reflect the seller's actual minimum. Other states have their own rules.
Using AI without inventing facts or breaking the rules
Listing generators, including the ones inside CRMs, write fluent copy and fill gaps with details that sound right: a strata levy, a school zone, a renovation year. Your name and licence are on the listing.
Give the tool only your notes and checked facts, tell it to add nothing and to leave out what it cannot support, and give it a past listing you wrote so it uses your voice. Then check every figure against its source and the price wording against your state's rules before it goes to the portals.
What gets in the way
Blaming the portal algorithm when a listing goes quiet.
Put your headline and first line beside three listings in the same suburb. If you could swap the text between them, rewrite before you talk to the vendor about price or upgrades.
Leaving the photos and a feature list to sell the home.
Let the photos show the home and the words answer the buyer's decision: who it suits, what it costs to own and the trade-off.
Pasting the vendor's notes into a generator and publishing what comes back.
Give it checked facts only, tell it to leave out what it cannot support, and check every figure and the price wording before it goes live.
Writing “offers over” or a wide range because it draws more inspections.
Follow your state's price rules exactly. In NSW and Victoria, a price below your estimate, or wording such as “offers over”, can be underquoting.
Questions agents ask next
Do keywords help a listing rank on realestate.com.au or Domain?
Neither portal publishes a formula that rewards particular words. Buyers mostly filter by suburb, price, bedrooms and property type, so get those fields right and spend your words on who the home suits and what it costs to own.
How long should a listing description be?
Long enough to say who the home suits, what it costs to own and what the trade-off is. That is a strong headline, a first line that works in the preview and a short run of sourced facts. Cut any sentence that could describe a different home.
Can I use “offers over” in a listing?
Not in New South Wales, where NSW Fair Trading lists it as not allowed, and in Victoria an advertised price must not be below your estimate or the seller's asking price. In Queensland it must reflect the seller's actual minimum. Check your state's rules; this is general information, not legal advice.
Should running costs go in the listing?
Yes, when you have a current figure with a source and date: council rates, water, and strata levies or owners corporation fees. Never estimate one you cannot source; say where the buyer can find it instead.
Can I use virtually staged photos?
Yes, if they do not mislead. The ACCC says agents must give truthful information about a property's features, so label staged or altered images clearly and follow your state's rules.