Marketing: Price competition

As a real estate photographer and videographer, I am shocked at just how many bad photos I see online, on MLS, of what people consider their biggest investment in their lives. What bothers me is that a chocolate bar company will spend millions on photos and videos to sell a $1 candy, but a homeowner won't spend a few hundred dollars fora photographer to sell a property worth hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars! Shocking, right? I bet if you were selling a $100,000 car, for instance, you would do your best to market it properly with nice photos, wouldn't you? So why are home-sellers not marketing their properties, their lifetime investment? Is it because they leave it up to the realtors? Is it because they just expect the property to sell itself magically luring new homebuyers. Hm? Perhaps homeowners should be reminded of this? 

I just did an MLS search for residential properties worth over $1,000,000. Guess how many popped up just around Toronto: over 500--and that's only listings that aren on the market. Now let's take an imaginary homebuyer researching these properties online. Say they narrow in onto an area of the city that appeals to them. Now, they have perhaps 100 properties to choose from in the million and above range. (and, remember, these are the expensive properties--there are MULTITUDES more of less expensive properties around) As they look thru the listings, what do you think they'll look for? Price, location, size, rooms? Yes, these are relevant factors. Now what do you think they'll see without looking? Photos. Why? Because images, photos of the properties, impart a stronger impression on an audience than text. This is because photos use a sense (sight) that is more memorable and impossible to argue with (note that video is even stronger as it uses images and sound--the general rule is, the more sense that are used, the stronger the impression, ie, touch, scent, sight, sound, taste). So if said homebuyer narrowed their search down to 10 properties, which do you think they'll consider first? Likely, they'll jump at the nicer properties in that price range--the nicer photos--because that is what they'll see without looking and that is what will impress them most. ;)

I believe that good photos will impress value upon homebuyers. This, in turn, can result in a higher price for the property. How? Consider this. For instance, if professionally shot photos brought more interested clients to your business and those clients all wanted the property, it's natural to assume that there would be some price competition, right? And where would that price go? Down? No. It would go up. Why? Because of the competition that was initiated by the marketing, by the photos and videos put out there in the internet sea. On the other hand, if your property did not present lurringly to your clients, did not have the proper images to lure them, chances are than they would skip your listing and move on to the next. Who would compete for your property then? And where would your price go if you had no competition for that property? Down? You got it.

See what I mean? It's worth investing a little to have professional photos of your properties.