15' x 12,' Not 12' x 15'

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.