How Long Should a Property Description Be?

"How long should a property description be?" is one of the most common questions agents ask — and the honest answer is: long enough to cover the property well, short enough that a phone user actually reads it. Here is how to think about it in 2026.

A practical rule of thumb

For most homes, a portal description of roughly 150 to 350 words — three or four short paragraphs — hits the sweet spot. Smaller flats and simple lets sit at the lower end; larger or unusual homes with more to say can justify the upper end. Beyond about 400 words you are usually losing readers, not informing them.

Why shorter usually wins

Most buyers browse on a phone, at speed, comparing a dozen listings. Walls of text get skimmed or skipped. A tight description that walks through the property in viewing order and answers the obvious questions will out-perform a longer one padded with adjectives. Our guide to writing a description that sells covers the structure that makes short copy work.

The summary line is a different length entirely

Do not confuse the full description with the summary or headline on the search-results card. That needs to be one punchy, front-loaded line, because mobile previews truncate after a sentence or two. More on this in our Rightmove format guide and headline guide.

Length is not the goal — completeness is

Do not pad a description to hit a word count, and do not cut a material fact to stay short. Every listing must still include the required material information — tenure, council tax band, EPC — however long the prose. A complete 200-word description beats a rambling 500-word one every time.

Match the length to the property

• Studio or one-bed flat, or a simple let: 120–200 words.
• Typical family house: 200–300 words.
• Large, period or unusual home: 300–400 words, if every line earns its place.

ListSmith writes to these proportions automatically — a tight, skimmable description plus a separate front-loaded summary line, from the facts you enter. Try it free and see the length it lands on for your next property.