1. Prepare one property message record
Start with the listing's approved record, not the last message in a team thread. Text is compact, so a stale price, changed event time, broken video link, or missing sender identity can consume most of the message's useful context. Record the exact value, source, as-of time, approver, and change owner for every field a template can insert.
Property: [approved public address or property identifier]
Listing relationship: [listing brokerage / team / authorized role]
Current public status: [exact wording / source / checked date and time]
Current price: [approved value / source / checked date and time]
Event: [type / date / start and end / time zone / access / update owner]
Recipient segment: [requested detail / matched buyer / seller / agent / campaign]
Reason and permission record: [request / relationship / documented campaign basis]
Maintained destination: [property page / video page / calendar / private review]
Required identity: [agent / firm / contact route / required disclosures]
Reply owner: [person / monitored number / response window / escalation]
Stop or change triggers: [opt-out / status / price / event / availability / seller instruction]
Use the listing intake form to establish property facts, permissions, seller decisions, and campaign ownership. The listing launch checklistthen verifies that the public page, media, contact route, and live listing agree before an announcement goes out.
2. Classify the recipient and message before choosing copy
A direct answer to someone who requested a property link is not the same operation as an automated campaign. A seller service update is different from a buyer alert. Keep these jobs in separate lists, automations, and reporting so that one permission or conversation is not silently expanded into another purpose.
| Message job | Context to preserve | Useful next step |
|---|---|---|
| Requested property detail | The exact question, property, and current source | Answer, send the source, or promise a verified follow-up |
| Known buyer match | The criterion the buyer gave the agent | Ask whether the buyer wants details or a showing conversation |
| Open-house communication | Current event record and how the recipient learned about it | Confirm a detail, get directions, or ask a property question |
| Seller service update | Agreed reporting rhythm, evidence, and decision owner | Confirm receipt, arrange review, or choose a documented option |
| Agent-to-agent property message | Role, representation, brokerage route, and approved facts | Open the professional source or continue through the correct channel |
| Promotional campaign | Audience, consent scope, sender, technology, opt-out, and suppression record | One relevant property action, not a chain of qualification questions |
3. Copy the launch and buyer-match templates
Replace every bracketed field. Delete a sentence when its context is not true; do not leave an unsupported superlative in its place. A buyer match should explain the match. A database announcement should use only the audience and purpose covered by the approved campaign.
1. Requested new-listing details
Hi [name]—[agent] with [firm]. Here are the current details for [property] you asked about: [maintained link]. It is listed as [status] at [price, if useful and verified]. What would you like me to confirm next?
2. Property matched to a buyer's stated criteria
Hi [name]—a listing at [property or approved area label] matches the [specific criterion] you asked me to watch for. Current details: [link]. Does it fit well enough to review the next step together?
3. Permission-based database announcement
[Agent] with [firm]: [property] is now [current status]. See the verified details and property media here: [link]. Reply with a property question, or use [approved opt-out wording] to stop these listing updates.
4. Cooperating-agent introduction
Hi [agent name]—[listing agent] with [firm] regarding [property]. Here is the current broker-approved listing information: [professional link]. If it may fit a client, what property detail can I confirm through the approved route?
If the message needs photos, a feature summary, disclosures, and several next steps, use the new listing email templates instead of compressing the complete launch package into a long text.
4. Copy video, showing, and open-house templates
5. Listing video requested by a buyer
Hi [name]—here is the property video for [property]: [mobile link]. It uses the current approved listing media and details as of [date, when useful]. Reply with the room or feature you want to discuss.
6. Private showing confirmation
Hi [name]—confirming [property] for [date, time, and time zone]. [Approved meeting or access instruction.] Please tell me if the timing changes or if there is a property question you want checked before we meet.
7. Open-house invitation
Hi [name]—[agent] with [firm]. [Property] has an open house scheduled for [date, start–end, time zone]. Current details and directions: [link]. Would you like me to confirm anything about the property before the event?
8. Open-house reminder or material change
Reminder for [property]: the open house is currently scheduled for [today/date, start–end, time zone]. Check the live event details before traveling: [link]. [If changed: The earlier message listed [old detail]; the current detail is [new detail].]
9. Requested follow-up after a showing or open house
Hi [name]—thank you for visiting [property]. You asked about [specific question]; the verified answer or source is [answer/link]. Would a second look help, or is there another property criterion I should understand?
The open house sign-in sheet template separates property follow-up from future marketing permission. Use the open house email sequence when the answer needs attachments, several property details, or a complete seller recap.
5. Copy price, status, and seller templates
10. Approved price change
Hi [name]—an update on [property]: the current listed price is [price], effective [date/time if needed]. Here is the maintained property page: [link]. Would you like to revisit the details or discuss a showing?
11. Back-on-market status
Hi [name]—[property] is currently shown as [exact approved status] as of [checked date/time]. Current details: [link]. Reply if you want me to verify availability or arrange the next conversation.
12. Seller launch confirmation
Hi [seller name]—the approved listing for [property] is live here: [link]. I completed [specific verified launch items]. I am checking [open item] by [time]. Please send any fact correction through [approved route]; our next report is [date or trigger].
13. Seller weekly-update handoff
Hi [seller name]—your update for [property] is ready: [private report link or email subject]. It covers completed marketing, current activity, feedback themes, and [decision, if any]. Can we review the [specific question] at [two possible times]?
14. Status closeout or stale-link correction
Correction for [property]: the earlier message or link is no longer current. The listing is now [approved status], checked [date/time]. Please use [current source/link] and disregard the prior [price/event/status] detail.
Do not speculate about why a transaction changed or publish private terms. The back-on-market templatesand price reduction post templates show how to coordinate public campaign copy after the seller and responsible brokerage have approved the update.
6. Plan the reply branches before sending
One clear question is useful only when someone can handle the possible answers. Write the reply map beside the template and route represented consumers, property questions, showing requests, seller decisions, corrections, and opt-outs to the correct person and system.
| Reply | Next action | Do not do |
|---|---|---|
| Property question | Answer from the approved source or assign verification | Guess, repeat a seller comment as fact, or invent a deadline |
| Showing interest | Use the approved representation, scheduling, and access workflow | Promise availability before checking the current source |
| Already represented | Respect the disclosed relationship and use the proper professional route | Turn a property answer into an attempt to disrupt the relationship |
| Not a fit | Ask whether the recipient wants to update the criteria, when appropriate | Argue with the preference or keep sending the same property |
| Correction | Verify it, fix controlled destinations, and send a proportionate correction | Repair only the text while the public page remains wrong |
| Stop or revocation | Apply the approved suppression process across relevant sending systems | Require the recipient to debate, explain, or repeat the request |
7. Review permission, identity, and property accuracy
A template cannot determine whether a message is permitted. Review how the number was obtained, what the person requested, the sender-recipient relationship, whether the content is informational or promotional, the sending technology, and the federal, state, carrier, platform, MLS, and brokerage rules that apply. Keep the record with the campaign.
The FCC's current rules address robocalls and robotexts, consent, and reasonable revocation requests. Review the FCC consent-revocation orderfor the actual technology and campaign, and obtain qualified guidance when required. For REALTORS®, the 2026 NAR Code of Ethicscalls for a true picture in real estate communications, a readily apparent professional identity, and firm disclosure in advertising. Do not apply NAR member obligations to every licensee, and do not treat either source as a substitute for the rules governing the specific message.
- The recipient, phone source, relationship, message purpose, permission basis, and sending technology are recorded.
- The agent and required firm identity are recognizable without relying on a saved contact.
- The address, price, status, date, event, availability, and link match the current approved source.
- The message does not imply scarcity, competition, savings, results, or urgency without support.
- The property language and destination have received the applicable fair-housing review.
- The video, photos, logo, music, names, and linked material are cleared for the intended use.
- The reply route is monitored and connects to the approved agency or representation workflow.
- Opt-out, revocation, correction, status-change, event-change, and takedown paths are tested.
8. Test, measure, and retire the sequence
Send the final version to a test phone, open the link over cellular data, and inspect the exact mobile page. Check the sender context, placeholders, line breaks, preview image, captions, property facts, call to action, reply path, and required opt-out behavior. A clean draft inside a CRM is not the delivered experience.
| Job | Useful evidence | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Answer a request | Answer delivered, correction handled, or next question received | Delivery does not prove the answer was understood |
| Share a property or video | Reply, attributable page visit, viewing question, or showing request | A click alone does not establish intent or influence |
| Support an event | Detail confirmed, question answered, attendance attributed, or change received | Do not claim every attendee came from the text |
| Update a seller | Receipt, correction, decision, task owner, and next checkpoint | A short text is not the complete marketing report |
| Operate the workflow | Failures, stale-link incidents, corrections, response time, and opt-outs | Do not optimize response at the expense of permission or service quality |
Stop scheduled messages when the listing, event, seller instruction, audience permission, or responsible person changes. Update the controlled destination before sending a correction, and retain only the communication records required by the approved business process.
Give the text one property video worth opening
Westby turns approved listing photos and facts into a cinematic property-video preview without another shoot. Review the property representation, place the approved video on a maintained mobile page, and then use the template that matches the recipient's real context.
Create a free listing-video preview, or use the complete video texting workflowto choose the link, test playback, handle consent, and measure the next action.
Frequently asked questions
What should a new listing text message say?
Identify the sender, explain why this recipient is receiving this property, include only current verified details, provide one maintained link, and ask one useful question. A matched-buyer text should name the criterion that made the listing relevant rather than sending a generic blast.
How long should a real estate text message be?
Use the shortest message that preserves identity, context, the current property fact, one link when needed, and one next step. Do not force a complex seller decision, legal explanation, or multi-part report into a text; use the message to arrange a call or point to the complete source.
Can an agent text a listing video?
A hosted mobile-friendly link is usually easier to maintain than a large attachment. The agent still needs the appropriate communication permission, a recognizable sender, a current property destination, cleared media rights, and a working reply or opt-out process for the actual message and sending technology.
Should a price reduction text include the old price?
Include the prior price only when it is verified, approved, useful to the recipient, and permitted in the intended communication. The current price, as-of context, property identity, and live destination matter more than dramatic discount language.
Can one template be sent to every real estate contact?
No template creates permission or relevance. Separate requested one-to-one replies, known buyer matches, seller service messages, cooperating-agent communication, and promotional campaigns. Adapt the facts and next step to the recipient, and follow the current requirements for the actual audience, jurisdiction, brokerage, platform, and sending method.