The About of the Property Section in a Real Estate Listing

As any real estate investor knows, determining property value is more art than science. You could ask three appraisers to value the same home and get tens of thousands of dollars apart in their valuations. However, there are some parts of the valuation process that can be objective. The “about of the property” section is one such area, and it is important for listing agents to be as thorough as possible in this section.

The about of the property is a section where listing agents tell the story of the property, highlighting its best features and downplaying (but not ignoring) any negative aspects. For residential properties, this means pointing out things like the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, spacious yard, and well-maintained kitchen. For commercial properties, it could mean describing the size of the space and its suitability for different uses, or mentioning any renovations that have been done.

It’s also an opportunity to mention anything relevant about the neighborhood. This might include crime rates (which can affect both home and business values) and any recent changes in local infrastructure or amenities. For example, improved transportation connections can have a big impact on property values, and new or updated schools can also be attractive.

Some thinkers have proposed theories of property that are not related to land. Oliver Wendell Holmes, for instance, argued that property is a right to control resources based on practical inability to contradict the possessor’s ends. He also suggested that this concept of property is distinct from titles, which are a legal right to control resources without possession.

Others have argued that property is a natural social phenomenon, not necessarily inevitable. David Hume, for instance, argued that the distribution of property among citizens can influence the shape of government, and that a more stable republic is formed when commoners own most of the nation’s land and nobility controls the rest.