Can Great Photos Sell Johns Creek Homes? The old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" is true, but in real estate a picture is worth thousands of dollars - less or more. Great pictures can also determine whether a home sells or not. About 90% of buyers are searching for homes online and many buyers will overlook homes with poor pictures, so it is extremely important that whoever you select as an agent can ensure the photos will be excellent.
Does Your Agent Know How To Take Quality Photos
The photo (below left) was randomly pulled from the MLS as an example, but it is very common to see pictures that are dark or under-exposed. Which photo do you think will attract more attention? I've seen many homes that expire that have poor photos and wonder if just by having nice crisp pictures would the outcome been different. If agents take their own photos they need to take the time to have good equipment and take the time to learn how to use it.
Preparing The Home For Showings
The next photos will show how very important it is for sellers to get the home "ready" for photos. The photo (below left) is very distracting with all the clutter and nick-nacks and it is hard to see the room. Which photo makes you feel more relaxed? Which photo makes you feel invited into the room? From my experience with buyers, many buyers could not get past all the "stuff" to see the actual room. Can you imagine where your personal items would go in the left or right picture below? Buying a home only occurs when there is an emotional attachment to a home. It's not hard to figure out which property below a buyer would get emotionally attached to based on the photos.
Painting And Minor Updating
These photos show what a huge impact neutral paint and minor updating can make on the first impression buyers see online. These are the same exact rooms and just by painting, eliminating the wallpaper border and replacing the light and or fan fixture makes a huge difference on how the home shows.
Digital SLR Camera With A Wide Angle Lens Versus Compact Camera
The next few pictures show the difference by taking photos with a Digital SLR camera with a 10-20mm wide angle lens versus a compact pocket camera ($100 camera.) Both cameras were put on a tripod at the same exact spot. I took these photos on the automatic mode (I don't recommend for inside photos)for each camera and that is the reason both photos are very dark. In Great Photos Sell Johns Creek Homes-Part II we will take a look at taking advantage of the manual mode settings to get better exposed photos.
As you can see in the photo to the left the room appears much smaller when taken with the compact camera. Although the wide angle lens does a great job of letting the viewer see much of the room, the picture is very under-exposed resulting in a very poor photo. We will discuss in Great Photos Sell Johns Creek Homes-Part II what to do to improve the photos above to get crisp clean looking pictures buyers will like.
When taking outside photographs on a bright sunny day, use a circular polarizing filter as it will enhance the color saturation and remove reflections from water. The sky will look a much deeper blue for example.
Sellers, "Great Photos Sell Johns Creek Homes", especially if your home is priced correctly and it is in good condition. A good listing agent will get the needed online exposure, but everything starts with what the buyer sees online. The pictures can send the right or wrong message to prospective buyers looking at homes with the same criteria as your home. Make sure you are sending the right message so you won't be asking the question why did my home expire?
If you have any questions about selling your Johns Creek home or in the Northeast Atlanta area give Mark a call at 404-353-0185.
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Mark services the following Northeast Atlanta cities: Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Roswell, Milton, Woodstock, Dunwoody, Suwanee, Buford, Duluth, Dacula, and Lawrenceville Georgia.
About the Author: The above Real Estate information on Great Photos Sell Johns Creek Homes - Part I was provided by Mark Mitchell. Mark can be reached via e-correspondence at mark@markmitchellhomes.com or by phone at 404-353-0185. Also visit www.johnscreek-homes.net
Copyright © By Mark Mitchell 2010 *Great Photos Sell Johns Creek Homes - Part I*
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