How do I write a good property listing?
Short answer: In the great majority of cases the fasteignasali (the licensed real estate agent) writes the listing, and it is part of the service. If you still want to write it yourself, the simplest route is to start from material that already exists: copy the description from fastinn.is from the last time the property was on the market, pull up the descriptions of properties in the same building or the surrounding area, and feed all of that together with your own information about renovations and maintenance, into an AI tool such as Claude or ChatGPT and ask for an updated property description.
Why start from the old description?
When a property has been on the market before, there is already a text that describes the basics correctly: the square metres, the room layout, the year of construction, what is included and how the property is arranged. You don't have to work those details out again and you reduce the chance of forgetting something.
Descriptions of other properties in the same building or the same street then do two further things: they tell you what is normally mentioned about properties of this type, and they often name shared elements that apply to your property too, such as building works, communal areas or parking arrangements.
Building the description step by step
Look your property up on fastinn.is and copy the description from the last time it was on the market.
Pull up the descriptions of comparable properties in the same building or the surrounding area.
Write down everything that has changed since the last sale: what has been renovated, what has been done to the building, new fittings, flooring, windows, roof, plumbing, wiring.
Paste all of it into an AI tool such as Claude or ChatGPT and ask for an updated property description that takes account of the old description, the descriptions of the other properties in the building and the latest information from you.
Read it through and correct it. You are responsible for the description being accurate, the tool is not.
Responsibility for the information being correct rests on both the seller and the fasteignasali, under lög um sölu fasteigna og skipa nr. 70/2015 (the Icelandic Act on the Sale of Real Property and Ships). The listing must therefore never say anything different from what is in the söluyfirlit (the statutory property disclosure sheet), that is where the information a buyer may rely on is set out. See also: What must be included in a söluyfirlit?
What belongs in a good listing?
Location and neighbourhood — and what is within walking distance that actually matters.
Room layout and flow, how the property is arranged, not just the number of rooms.
What has been renovated, with the year, if you know it.
Genuine strengths, a bright living room, a sheltered deck, a roomy utility room. The same rule that applies to photos applies to text: name the things people use every day.
The condition of the building and the communal areas — works that have been carried out or have been decided on.
What does not belong there are empty adjectives. "A stunning property in a fantastic location" tells the buyer nothing that helps them decide whether to turn up to a viewing.
Remember where the text sits in the sequence
The description doesn't sell the property on its own. The buyer looks at the photos first and only reads the text if the photos sparked interest. The best description in the world will not rescue dark, badly taken photos. That is why the order is always: good photos, then good text, then marketing that reaches enough people, for example through paid social media advertising, which Baldur fasteignasali specialises in.
In short
The fasteignasali writes the listing and it is part of the service.
If you want to do it yourself, it is best to build on the older description from fastinn.is.
Descriptions of properties in the same building give you context and remind you of what must not be left out.
AI tools such as Claude or ChatGPT can produce an updated description from that material.
You are responsible for the content being accurate, always read it through.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use AI to write a property description? Yes, and it is a simple way to assemble material that already exists. The key is that you give the tool accurate information and then read the result through, because the tool cannot know what is true about your property.
Where do I find the old description of my property? On fastinn.is you can look up properties that have been on the market. There you will find both the description of your own property from its previous sale and the descriptions of other properties in the same building or the surrounding area.
Get in touch
The listing is part of how the property is marketed, and it has to work together with the photos and the advertising, not on its own. Contact Baldur Jezorski, licensed real estate agent (löggiltur fasteignasali), on 450-0000 or send a message via 450.is for more information about property listings and how your property will be marketed. Free and with no obligation.
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