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Nila June is software that automates listing descriptions.
Platforms: Browser
Ideal for: Listing agents, teams and brokers
Top selling points:
- Produces long- and short-form versions
- Stripped down form-based interface
- Created by a writer
- No long-term contract or subscription
Top concern:
The data input process is very redundant, essentially replicating a common MLS input experience.
Note: Nila June’s simplistic UI doesn’t require screenshots to understand; they were excluded from this review. Samples of its work are included instead.
What you should know
Nila June is a product that writes listing descriptions for agents. This is the latest alternative in a quickly growing niche of real estate marketing, and each iteration shows me something better than the last. Agents who struggle with writing or simply want to make their marketing more efficient could benefit from using this easy, affordable software.
There isn’t much to write about here. (Pun intended.) Nile June is as straight-forward as software gets. There’s no CRM integrations, drip campaign tools or bold, mobile-inspired user interfaces.
The software uses a logic-based HTML form (meaning: the form reveals and hides follow-up fields based on previous responses) to capture contextual data about a property.
But that form simplicity bothers me a bit. It needs to be flattened, as it’s too much like stepping through an MLS property-input form. It’s easy, yes. But also tedious.
Thankfully, an MLS integration can solve this. Nila June could connect to a broker’s MLS account to port data, or a Zapier connection with an in-house transaction management system could do it, too.
Sample: A treasure of lifestyle features awaits within and beyond the walls of this 5-bedroom, 3-bathroom contemporary, which is perfectly situated within Grierville’s prime College Triangle neighborhood. Nestled on a tranquil cul-de-sac amid sidewalked streets, the home is mere minutes from the amenities of town center, including the shopping and dining variety of Hamilton Square. Nearby you’ll also find the natural enticements of Trout River Park. “Be right there” radius includes all Pineville public schools. Spectacular views of the snowcapped mountains are among the reasons to be glad for the painless commute home from Franklin.
Once the form is completed, Nila June needs less than a minute to pump out two descriptions — one that can be used on websites or in marketing collateral and a second for multiple listing services. Users are emailed when the descriptions are complete.
So, are the descriptions readable? Yes, very much so.
Nile June was named after developer Greg Williams’ grandmother, an entrepreneurial real estate broker at a time when women weren’t typically seen in business leadership roles. Williams is also a writer by trade, working years crafting reports for REIS before it became a Moody’s company. Williams also wrote a novel.
His take on natural language processing being used for business writing is that to date, the tools leave out the writer. My experience says that Williams is exactly right. Most of the automated power writers I’ve seen pump out sufficiently adequate but Mojave-dry listing copy. (But so do many agents.)
Sample: What to say of the large kitchen? It is recently updated, and features quartz counters in an efficient galley layout. Premium brand names include Viking, Subzero, and Bosch. How were dinner parties ever possible without these double ovens? The entire scene glows in light that is both stylish and natural.
Nila June does a very good job with descriptive phrasing, adjectives and colorfully connecting home features to their purpose. There’s no doubt Williams is spending a good deal of time creating multiple wordplay scenarios to match the data input fields.
The software delves into a number of lifestyle characteristics that make homes stand out. It asks about the proximity to town centers, nearby natural areas, external amenities such as patios and decks, natural lighting in the kitchen and specific neighborhoods and subdivisions.
The user can plug in some stuff, too. For example, in my demo, we typed in names of local ski resorts and lakes, and they fell into the end result quite nicely.
I think leaning toward lifestyle features is what makes Nila June stand out, as anyone reading a listing description already knows the beds-and-baths count. Plus, it’s easier to craft a vibrant image of a home by describing what’s around it, as kitchens and primary bedrooms can rely more on photography.
Williams isn’t adamant that what his software creates should be used word-for-word every time. There’s plenty of opportunity to punch-up the copy, and that it can serve to get agents over bouts of writer’s block.
Sample: The external amenities offer plenty of reasons to stay outside, but the immersive welcome of the house exerts a gravitational pull. Amid the expansiveness of an open floor plan, the neutral palette of the current finishings provides a perfect blank canvas for your interior design talents. The centerpiece of the living room is a gas fireplace that attracts with its peaceful warmth.
I argue that Nile June’s copy can be repurposed for other digital marketing efforts, such as social media and email.
I regretfully opine that tools in this space are getting better, and Nila June might be the best example yet. It and its competitors still come off as generic in many cases. It’s difficult for a bot to capture writing style and true creativity, and luxury property descriptions would be quite challenging to have software create.
Also, how does the copy match up with the photos? The two have to be complimentary.
Nevertheless, for the agents and teams seeking ways to further expedite marketing needs, products like this can help. I’ve seen much worse written by humans.
Plus, Nila June requires no ongoing subscription or contract; simply pay $20 per use.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe
Craig C. Rowe started in commercial real estate at the dawn of the dot-com boom, helping an array of commercial real estate companies fortify their online presence and analyze internal software decisions. He now helps agents with technology decisions and marketing through reviewing software and tech for Inman.
