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More Pics in MLS is Better is Just a Myth - Tests Show Less is Best

By Jeff Pearl

Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Distinctive / LIC in VA

May 19, 2012 10:48 PM

Does the amount of photos you upload into your MLS to sell listings really make that much difference? No, but of course that could vary with location and price range. For this blog, tests showed that less is better! Having 1-15 photos was actually better than having 16-30 photos.

History shows that plenty of homes sold with only 1 photo. With advances in computer and digital technology, MLS's began increasing the amout of photos. Some still only allow 9 photos, yet those homes still sell. Some allow 16 photos, some 30. The amount of photos doesn't always make a difference. With many sales, 6 quality photos will attract and capture more attention that 30 dark and fuzzy low quality photos. But this is not about quality, only quanity. Many agents and potential buyers come to wrong conclusions based on the amount of photos in the MLS. Many will automatically assume if a house only has 5 photos that sellers and/or their agent is hiding something, or the house must need a lot of work. The truth is, agents have no idea why there are 3 photos, or 5 , or 12. The seller is the one that decides what photos of their property they want in the MLS, not the agent. Many don't want kids room photographed for example. Some rooms are so small a photo is basically useless. Photos and photographers can deceive people. Wide angle photos can distort the appearance of a room so much that the photo is useless. Some agents still don't know the definiton of the requirement that we paint a true picture in our advertising.

Anyway, the criteria I used in these tests are basic math. No evaluation of the quality of photos was considered. Criteria (1) Homes that sold in last 60 days. (2) Sale prices from $300,000.00- $400,000.00 (3) Only the first 25 "solds" that came up were used (4) A sample from 3 counties was used- Loudoun VA, Fairfax VA, and Frederick MD. (5) Only single family detached homes were used.

Here is what those results showed. In Frederick MD the avearge # of photos used was 18. In Loudoun VA, the average # of photos used was 21. In Fairfax VA, the average # of photos used was 11.

To take it a step further, In Fairfax, I counted the the # of listings that had 1-15 photos, and the ones with 16-30 photos. The Days on Market for listings with 1-15 photos was 79. The Days on Market for listings with 16-30 photos was 111.

So in this test, using less photos shows a reduced DOM by 32 days.

Jeff Pearl / REALTOR

RE/MAX Distinctive is Lic in VA MD DC

703-727-4876

jeffpearlhomes.com

jeffpearlhomes@gmail.com

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Mel Ahrens, MBA, Kelly Right Real Estate

Kelly Right Real Estate - Hood River, OR

Customized Choices for your Real Estate Needs

I know that as a buyer, I didn't even look at houses that didn't have at least a dozen photos online. Our MLS takes 16, which seems pretty good. On our website, most have around 20, which seems perfect to me. Large houses with lots of property need more... we have one currently with 37 photos. Buyers want to narrow their search down before actually touring houses and they need plenty of photos to do that.

Gretchen

May 20, 2012 08:29 AM

Jeff Pearl

RE/MAX Distinctive / LIC in VA - Lovettsville, VA

Full Service Full Time Realtor

#13- Hi Winston ( Melissa was #14), I agree, many agents are lazy and/or not tech savyy enough or just don't have the patience to upload 30 pics. How many is enough. Seems like most houses can be showcased fairly well with 8-18 pics. Video takes talent. Most agent stake terrible shaky videos and are constantly zooming in and out so much it gives peopel a headache trying to watch them. I'm in Northern VA so things could be different in your area?

#15- Celeste, you didn't read evrything accurately. This is just one of several tests that all indicate my points. The amount of pictures is not as important as agent sthink it is. If it was, why would all the areas that have MLS's that only allow 9 photos have no problem selling their listings? 9 quality photos can be just as or more effective as 25 average photots, or 25 quality photos for that matter.I'm not interested in discussing seo, this is just a test concerning amount of photos, and the ridiculous idea that some agents actually think it is up to them to decide which properties to show based on amount of photos. The fact is, many homes with 6 or less pics sell just as well and just as fast as homes with 16 pics. That is clearly documented in the MLS records. The problem is, once you get over 15-20, ( we are allowed 30), those last 10 usually are lame photos of flower beds, mailboxes, views of nothing, shutters, etc. Some houses I can get 30 good photos, but not with some smaller homes or with townhouses or condos. I suppose the sellers that have been inclined to hire me had other reasons besides my photography skills and ideas. Buyers that say " Next" because of lack of photos risk passing by a house that might have worked perfectly for them. How would they ever know? 13 of the 25 houses that sold in Fairfax had less that 10 pics. That's documented in the MLS.

May 20, 2012 08:51 AM

Jeff Pearl

RE/MAX Distinctive / LIC in VA - Lovettsville, VA

Full Service Full Time Realtor

#16- Hi Linda, I know that's true. I've seen many homes sell with only one photo and they were REO's.

#17- Hi Terrie, I agree, market demand outweighs quanity and quality of phots in a lot of cases.

#18- Hi Richie, Yes, each house is different, and each will require a different amount of phots to properly market it.

#19- Hi Gary, In this test I only used single family detached homes priced from 300-400,000.00

May 20, 2012 08:56 AM

Mike Cooper, Broker VA,WV

Cornerstone Business Group Inc - Winchester, VA

Your Neighborhood Real Estate Sales Pro

Interesting, Jeff. I typically use 8-12. That number shows plenty of the house, but it does leave something to the imagination. I've never had any trouble getting people to look at my listings with that number.

May 20, 2012 09:46 AM

Joe Pryor

The Virtual Real Estate Team - Oklahoma City, OK

REALTOR® - Oklahoma Investment Properties

I don't think that the scientific method applies to this because you can't create a control group. I will agree that a few pictures on a home listed at the right price will always outsell a home with 20 pictures that is at an inflated price. Much goes into a home selling technique and this is just a part of it. FYI, In most cases I do refuse to show a home that has one picture. If an agent is that lazy then it is not my job to do the work or research for him about what's inside.

May 20, 2012 09:49 AM

Jeff Pearl

RE/MAX Distinctive / LIC in VA - Lovettsville, VA

Full Service Full Time Realtor

#20- Hi j Philip, Actually, therre were only 6 REO's out of these 75 listings. Yes, other variable exist, but I only used what info appears in the MLS.

#21- Hi Eilenn, I think it jsut depends on the house. Some house have I kitchen pic is enough, other might need 3 kitchen pics. I just use whatever amount is needed to present the property properly.

#22- Hi Harry, I'm sure your method works fine.

#23- Hi Beverly, The daughter mthod sounds good. Others see thing we don't always see. Professional photographers can be useful, but someone still needs to stage and declutter the house before taking photos.

#24- Hi Anthony, I agree, 6-20 good photos seems to be where a lot of agents end up.

#25- Hi paul and Diane, I agree. if I did this test for Great Falls VA for example, # of pics would probably fall between 20 and 30 for most listings. I'll have to check that.

#26- Hi Mike, I find that as well. Sometimes it's just a waste of time to try to find something to photograph just for the sake of having more photos than you need.

#27- Hi Robert, Thanks. I agree, 10 -20 should be plenty for most houses.

#28- Hi Lyn, No, it's not " NONSENSE". It's actual facts that appear in MRIS for sale that took place over the last 60 days. I'm in Northern VA. Could be different in Midwest. I wroot in the pose exactlt what cxriteria I used, so how can you say " I'm not sure how I did my study...."?

#29- Hi James, That's the first I heard of anyone using 60 pics. That would put me to sleep and sounds like overkill. Yes, less of quality photos is better than more of low quality.

#30- Hi Leslie, Yes, there are variable in every market. Some agent s do you a secong virtual tour, but I didn't notice any in this particular test. Agentrs learn their markets and know how many pics work. We're allowed 30 in MRIS, but in this testno agent sin Fairfax used 30 pics and only 6 used 20 or more.

May 20, 2012 09:56 AM

Michelle Francis

Tim Francis Realty LLC - Atlanta, GA

Realtor, Buckhead Atlanta Homes for Sale & Lease

Jeff,

While I certainly appreciate that they need to be quality photos, we strongly feel that we want to market our listings well and that includes having the 25+ photos. Since our average pricepoint is $600-$700k for sales, folks expect good photos. Not having them or having poor ones is just insane.

Having said all this - great photos won't sell an overpriced listing! We also feel strongly about pricing them right or PASSING on the listing. So, photos are part of the framework of marketing that help us sell a house.

All the best, Michelle

May 20, 2012 11:09 AM

Bart Foster

Keller Williams Realty Boston - Metro - Boston, MA

Boston MA Real Estate

I've recently put a property under agreement sight unseen. The buyer sent his agent and a near full price offer was received. A few years back well before the peak of the market, I took photos for my broker who then posted those to the internet........ A buyer surfaced and make an offer by her broker site unseen. While it is only my opinion, there is no substitute for a great photo shoot. Homes in Boston which are photographed well sell quickest.

May 20, 2012 12:19 PM

Joan Whitebook

BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH

Consumer Focused Real Estate Services

Interesting.. however, I don't think one can just look at photos and detetermine that is THE reason one home sells in less time than another. THere are many facts as pointed out in this discussion..

May 20, 2012 12:51 PM

Dave Halpern

Dave Halpern Real Estate Agent, Inc., Louisville, KY (502) 664-7827 - Louisville, KY

Louisville Short Sale Expert

One photo and the right price will sell the house. Even the best photograper in the world with the optimum number of photos cannot get an overpriced home to sell.

May 20, 2012 12:56 PM

Mark Delgado

houses for rent, Solano County & Glen Cove - Benicia, CA

Benicia and Vallejo, Property Management, rental h

I commend your approach and trying to use facts to prove your point as opposed to anecdotal evidence, which can be very wrong. I, however, still disagree with your conclusion in that I contend that the study size was too small and that there are too many other variables involved in a sale.

Photos generate traffic, they alone do not "make" the sale. With that said, an appropriate number of quality photos will generate more traffice and thus increase the odds of making a sale.

May 20, 2012 01:08 PM

Christine Donovan

Donovan Blatt Realty - Costa Mesa, CA

Broker/Attorney 714-319-9751 DRE01267479 - Costa M

Jeff - I agree that you need to take in to account the quality of the photos. Still I have many buyers who dismiss homes that only hae a picture or two.

May 20, 2012 01:33 PM

Athina Boukas

Virginia Capital Realty - Richmond, VA

Certified Residential Specialist (CRS)

This is interesting and counter-intuitive.

I still believe that 15 quality shots > 2 bad ones and 2 quality shots > than 15 bad ones.

Hard to say, unless you compare 15 quality shots with 2 quality shots of same type of property and priced within market value.

May 20, 2012 02:37 PM

Dave Kinkade

Home Locators Property Management Tampa Florida - Tampa, FL

Director of Marketing - Property Management

Sorry, Jeff, I don't agree. Quality images, presented thoughtfully, will help to sell a house. More images = a better opportunity to find that one thing, that 'hook' for each prospect. Poor images are nearly a complete waste of time. Heck, put ten or less if they are bad quality - do it as an act of charity for the time of the prospect and the reputation of the brokerage.

May 20, 2012 02:49 PM

Mark Bruno

Monterey Peninsula Home Team - Carmel, CA - Keller Williams Coastal Estates - Pebble Beach, CA

Monterey Peninsula Home Team Leader

Interesting statistics on photography and a great thought provoking post'. I take our teams photography and have found that every home requires a different strategy. If the home is a fixer and good photos are hard to come by, then I have found it to be better to only put up the pictures that show the property in its best light. If the home is in move in condition then I have found it to be better to post as many good photos as I can. I think in today's day and age, pricing and positioning have more to do with how quickly a home sells, but good photography can help get a higher price by attracting more potential buyers. I don't think the number of photos has much to do with how long I takes to sell a home.

May 20, 2012 03:38 PM

Doug Bullwinkel

E Mortgage Capital, Inc. NMLS 1416824 - Roseville, CA

Mortgage Loan Officer NMLS #281609

I think my mother gave me some advice long ago that might apply. Everything in moderation. Too much of anything can be overkill and not enough makes buyers lose interest. There just needs to be a balance so that the buyer gets a good idea of what features are in the home and the condition of the property.

May 20, 2012 04:48 PM

Sandy Acevedo

951-290-8588 - Chino Hills, CA

RE/MAX Masters, Inland Empire Homes for Sale

Take a resonable number of photos as long as you have an adequate representation of the house. No need to take 30 when 15 will do.

May 21, 2012 01:38 AM

Cheryl Ritchie

RE/MAX Leading Edge www.GoldenResults.com - Huntingtown, MD

Southern Maryland 301-980-7566

That's different! I try to do the max photos so I cover every room and every angle plus the outdoors.

May 21, 2012 08:45 AM

Kathryn Maguire

GreatNorfolkHomes.com (757) 560-0881 - Chesapeake, VA

Serving Chesapeake, Norfolk, VA Beach

Interesting post and it certainly did stir things up a bit! I think it all depends. If you take crummy photos, then less is more. If the photos show toilets and cluttered rooms, then less is more. I look at photos as a great way to get buyers to see the property online and decide whether it is worth an in-person showing or not. It saves my sellers clients time and effort by having showings by buyers who were not really looking for a house like theirs.

May 22, 2012 01:30 AM

Inna Ivchenko

Barcode Properties - Encino, CA

Realtor® • GRI • HAFA • PSC Calabasas CA

Our MLS is constantly increasing the number or pictures you can post. I believe it is up to 60-70 now.

Nov 28, 2016 11:39 PM

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