To dictate a usable property listing in ninety seconds, follow a simple order: what the property is, then what makes it worth seeing, then the numbers someone would otherwise have to go and find. No script, no form — a spoken description, the way you would describe it to a colleague. Half sentences and second thoughts are fine: absorbing them is exactly what the rewrite is for.

The short version

  • Dictate in order: what it is → the strong point → the numbers → the caveat.
  • Say the numbers out loud, even the ones that feel obvious.
  • Don't tidy as you go — the rephrasing comes afterwards.
  • Ninety seconds of honest description beats three minutes of careful narration.

The order that works

  1. What it is. Property type, floor, rough size, bedrooms. "Two-bed, first floor, about seventy-four square metres."
  2. What makes it worth seeing. The thing that will become the headline. "South-facing garden out the back, properly private, nobody overlooking."
  3. The numbers. Energy rating, year of works, walking distances. These are the expensive ones to retrieve later.
  4. The caveat. The weak point, said plainly. "Second bedroom needs a bit of paint."
  5. The price. Always, even if it is not settled — "they're asking four twenty five, to confirm".

Say the numbers, even the obvious ones

This is the rule that changes the outcome most. Floor area, BER or DPE, the year any work was done, walking minutes to transport: what is said can be used; what isn't, somebody has to go and find.

That retrospective hunt is the most expensive line in the whole writing chain — see how long it takes to write a listing. Thirty seconds of numbers dictated on the way out saves ten to fifteen minutes of reconstruction that evening.

Don't tidy while you talk

The most common mistake is trying to phrase it well already. You reach for the adjective, restart the sentence, hesitate — and ninety seconds becomes four minutes for a result that is no better.

Half sentences and second thoughts are fine. That's what the rewrite is for.

A voice note is not a listing. It is raw material. It needs to be complete, not elegant.

A worked example

"right so rathmines, two bed, first floor… seventy four square metres I think, BER is C1. south facing garden out the back, quite private, nobody overlooking. rewired last year and they did the insulation at the same time. luas is five minutes walk maybe. second bedroom needs a bit of paint. asking four twenty five."

Twenty-two seconds. Everything is there: type, floor, size, rating, strong point, dated works, distance, caveat, price. The "I think" on the floor area earns its place — it flags a figure to confirm rather than passing it off as certain.

Going further

The full writing method, starting from this raw material, is in the complete guide to writing property listings.

To see what a voice note like this produces as a listing, see what Dictae does or book a 10-minute call.