Choosing the Right Property Description Generator

When we first launched Nila June's custom language model for listing descriptions, there were only a handful of property description generators on the market. Currently, there are well over 100. They are logically sortable into three categories, from least to most sophisticated.

Low end: a simple overlay to commercial AI

Most property description generators are simple overlays to a large language model (LLM). Think cheap vinyl siding or faux brick. They offer an interface that asks users to select only the most basic facts about the home from a brief checklist. The simplest ones don't even offer the checkboxes, but instead ask users to freetype details about the property into an open text box. When deciding whether to choose one of these simple property description generators, listing agents should ask themselves: With this paucity of information, could even a professional human writer come up with a great description?

The results can be disappointing. The output is an assembly of the most common property description phrases. Every view is "stunning." The home "boasts" a tire swing. (Free advice: Don't use "boasts.") The home is "perfect for" this or that purpose or demographic. "Perfect for entertaining loved ones" shows up a lot. And "Perfect for small families"—ouch. (More free advice: Don't use "perfect for"). Sometimes the descriptions are simply factually incorrect, with the addition or omission of whole rooms, floors, and exterior features!

Frankly, the results—though inaccurate and ordinary—are at least free of abbreviations, which is more than can be said for many published descriptions.

So, there is room for these services. They will vie for business from a large subset of agents who view the property description as a box to be checked. Nila June's customers see the property description as an opportunity to distinguish the listing (and themselves) in a competitive market. I mean no disrespect to agents who hold the less ambitious view. In recent, frothy years, many of them have been quite successful.

Mid-tier: photo upload, then a simple overlay to commercial AI

Some companies replace the checkbox or open-text input forms with a photo upload requirement. This makes for a sharp product video, but in practice it imposes a mechanical and QA burden on the customer. Those who are interested in the technology and willing to play a QA role in photo recognition may embrace the process. However, in our experience, few busy real estate agents are in this category.

The information gleaned from the photos and QAed by the agent is sent to an LLM. That's logical, but now we're back to all of the textual disadvantages described above. (And of course, there is also the monthly subscription fee!).

When deciding whether to choose a property description generator that comes with a technological hurdle, listing agents should ask themselves: Wouldn't I rather be selling?

High end: Nila June's custom language model

There's a reason why the tech-forward MIAMI Association of REALTORS® and others have selected Nila June as their preferred vendor in this category.

Nila June serves listing agents who share our belief that the property description is the most important piece of marketing collateral for any listing. Those many tens of thousands of real estate photographs on listing portals are as distinct as waves in the ocean. By contrast, your Nila June property description is a boat on top of that sea of sameness.

Beyond the opportunity to spotlight their listing, agents who use Nila June are also mindful of what the description says to potential sellers. For anyone who is choosing a listing agent, online property descriptions are Google-able examples of professionalism. When your Nila June description stands out, so do you.

In addition to being creative, we also help you avoid lame words, such as "boasts" and "stunning." Our vocabulary does not include problematic phrases, such as "perfect for."

The final product is writing. No one cares about tech.

We're obsessed with Nila June's purpose-built, custom natural language generation system. Not a day goes by when we don't improve some aspect of it. But we don't often talk about our tech, and here's why: It's not important to our customers. Agents don't care. Sellers don't care. Buyers don't care. Nila June's product is not the data entry process, or a connection to the hot new language model. Our product is those two descriptions that we deliver with every purchase. As co-founder Paul says on our calls with MLS representatives: "Nila June is a writing-forward product."

Has anyone ever said, "You've gotta read this novel! It was printed on a printing press!"?

Accuracy, speed, & ease-of-use

Low-end generators return their wares after minimal user engagement, which can be impressive initially. But without "knowing" much about the house, the system is not likely to provide many specifics about it. You might as well search Zillow to find something similar, and start from there.

In order to produce a better result, Nila June offers the agent a higher level of engagement. We think most sellers would expect their listing agent to spend at least a few minutes "briefing the writer." And by "few minutes," we're really only talking seven or eight. Our methodical process might even remind you to mention features that you hadn't considered.

When you're done, your coffee will still be hot, and your bagel still mostly intact. The payoff for fully engaging with the Nila June property briefing survey is a description that is specific to your listing. Your sellers will recognize their home. The writing will be remarkable in accuracy, creativity, and effectiveness. As with any piece of writing from any professional writer, you'll need to read it. You might choose to make adjustments. But as soon as that Nila June description instantly appears on your screen, you're on your way to a win.

We don't aim to win on price

Our decision not to hit individual users with subscription fees or annual contracts is based upon our appreciation of the real estate agent's workflow. Why should you pay Nila June during months when you don't have a listing? On the other hand, when you have a commission in sight, it makes sense to spend $19.99 for a great description—even if you have several listings in one month. Many of our customers have this "problem." They are happy to buy as needed—maybe multiple times in a single month, maybe none for a month or two.

"Free" property description generators can be very expensive!

There are cheaper services than Nila June. Most of the LLM-based description services are cheaper. Their prices will decline further as competition heats up among them. Agents who prefer to go the DIY route entirely can contend with a blank screen for "free," if they value their time at $0 per hour. But ask yourself: doesn't the seller who is about to pay you thousands in commission deserve a great property description? Is that generic AI property description going to win you a great referral?

There are more expensive services, too. An automated property description is simply not going to fit every house. For an implausibly extreme example, Nila June would not do a good job describing the International Space Station. Agents should turn to professional human freelancers to handle outlier properties.

Will Nila June ever use Large Language Models?

Our priority is to serve agents who are working hard to help hopeful buyers and sellers through one of the most important transactions of their lives. We do that by providing the best property descriptions that we can create, and we'll use any means to get there. So, it's easy to imagine including an LLM in our process someday. For now, though, we are sticking to our knitting, building our human-powered natural language generation system by the paragraph, sentence, phrase, and word.

Our advice: Try 'em all!

We welcome any bake-off. There is a market for simple LLM wrappers that return quick results with minimal effort. If that works for you, then great! For those who are willing to spend a little more time for a higher grade of output, Nila June is probably the way to go. Give Nila June a try, and perhaps you will add our instant property description service to your set of professional real estate tools.