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 →Match the property to the need
Compare a small set of realistic options using the same confirmed client criteria.
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 →Write for the buyer's decision, not the portal
Nobody outside Trade Me and realestate.co.nz knows exactly how their search results are ordered, so ignore anyone who sells a trick for it. What you control is what a buyer reads once your listing is in front of them, and that buyer is making one decision: is this worth a viewing?
The guide's ‘Explain the consequence, not the jargon’ method starts there. ‘Stunning’, ‘sun-drenched’ and ‘entertainer's delight’ describe how the agent feels; buyers scrolling a suburb see them on every listing and skip past. Say what changes for the buyer instead.
Work within the portal's limits
Trade Me's rules for agent listings give you a title of up to 50 characters and a plain-text description of up to 5,200 characters, with each line break counting as two. There is no bold or links, so the order of your sentences does the work. Trade Me also says a listing's location should reflect where the property really is, and that relisting to reset the start date within its 45-day window is against its terms because it misleads buyers.
Check realestate.co.nz's current requirements in your listing software or with its support team; the same principle applies, because the headline and first lines are what buyers see first in search results.
- 01Headline: the one fact that sets this home apart, in plain words. “Three bedrooms, flat fenced section, walk to school” beats “STUNNING FAMILY HOME”.
- 02First line: who it suits and why. “Suits a young family: the lawn is flat and fenced, and the school is a six-minute walk.”
- 03Three to five facts that back that up, each from a document: land and floor area, bedrooms and bathrooms, rates, heating and insulation, and the school zone if confirmed.
- 04The honest trade-off: on a busy road, a shared driveway, needs a new kitchen. Say it, and what it means for the buyer.
- 05The sale method and one next step: the auction or deadline date, the open home times, or a request for the property file.
Frame the facts before you write
The guide's ‘Frame the material question’ method asks which claims could change a buyer's decision and where each one comes from. Write each down with its source and date before you draft.
This is also where the rules bite. The REA's guidance reminds agents that under the Fair Trading Act every claim needs reasonable grounds when it is made, and rule 6.4 of the code says a licensee must not mislead or withhold information that should in fairness be provided. Floor area from memory, a school zone you assumed or a view that depends on a neighbour's tree are the claims that cause complaints.
Match the home to one kind of buyer
The guide's ‘Match the property to the need’ method compares options against the same criteria, which is exactly what a buyer does with your listing beside ten others in the suburb. Suitability rests on several facts, not one feature: a pool does not make a home suit a family.
Describe the home and the way of living it supports, never the kind of person who should or should not buy it. And keep the price wording honest: under rule 9.4 any price indication must not mislead buyers about what the vendor expects.
Using AI without inventing facts
Listing generators, including the AI built into many CRMs, write fluent copy and fill gaps with details that sound right. The REA's guidance on generative AI says to fact-check the accuracy and completeness of anything a tool produces, and that the licensee stays responsible for it.
Give the tool only your notes and checked facts, tell it to add nothing, and give it a listing you wrote so it uses your voice. Then check every line against its source and get the vendor's sign-off before it goes live, as the REA recommends for all advertising.
A five-minute check before you publish
Run this on every new listing, and on any live listing that has gone quiet.
- 01Read the headline and first line on their own. Do they say who the home suits?
- 02Put your listing beside two others in the same suburb. If you could swap the text between them, rewrite yours.
- 03Find the source and date for every figure. Remove any you cannot find.
- 04Check the trade-off is stated, not saved for the viewing.
- 05Check the agency's name and its REAA 2008 licence statement appear on the advert.
- 06Check there is one next step, and only one.
What gets in the way
Blaming the Trade Me algorithm when a listing goes quiet.
Put your headline and first line beside the other listings in the suburb. If they say the same thing, rewrite before you talk about price.
Leaving the photos and a list of features 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 brochure 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 line before it goes live.
Writing a tenanted property as if buyers could move straight in.
Write it for investors: the weekly rent, when the tenancy ends and how viewings work, from the tenancy agreement.
Questions agents ask next
How long can a Trade Me property title be?
Trade Me's rules for agent listings set the title at up to 50 characters and the description at up to 5,200, in plain text, with each line break counting as two characters.
Is there a trick to ranking higher on Trade Me or realestate.co.nz?
Neither portal publishes how it orders results, so be wary of anyone selling a trick. Relisting to reset the start date is against Trade Me's terms. Spend the effort on a headline and first line buyers actually read.
Can I say a home is in a school zone?
Only if you have checked the school's current enrolment zone and can show where the answer came from. Under the Fair Trading Act every claim needs reasonable grounds when you make it.
Should I include the rateable value in the listing?
Only with care. The REA's guidance warns against relying on a rateable value that does not reflect the market, because it can mislead buyers about the price.
Can I use AI to write my listings?
Yes, for a first draft from your own checked facts. The REA's guidance says you stay responsible for the result, so check every figure and feature, and get the vendor's sign-off before it goes live.