Home Measurements &
Real Estate Conventions
Real estate marketing is all about “putting your best foot forward”: accentuating (but not lying) about a home’s strengths, while defusing any negatives (one of the best ways: tackle them head on, to get them out of the way).
That applies to a home’s measurements, too.
So, Realtors will typically list a room as 15′ x 12′ — not 12′ x 15.’
It’s the same room, either way, but leading with the bigger number has a subtle, psychological effect.
What’s the exception to that?
Lot sizes.
Convention (or at least mine) is to list a lot’s width first — so it’s 40′ by 120′, not 120′ by 40′.
That’s because you can see the width — but not the depth — from the street.
If the lot’s especially deep, I emphasize that in the MLS “remarks” fields (“Agent” and “Public”), marketing supplement, etc.
