As a Realtor®, you know that working with sellers requires you to be on your toes—you have to come up with an intensive marketing strategy and implement it so that all the right buyers are seeing (and becoming interested in) your clients’ homes.
Part of that is using a professional photographer to snap great shots of each room. Without professional photos—and a few other things—you can do irreversible damage to your marketing plan.
Why Hire a Professional Photographer?
Photographers aren’t cheap, but working with a professional can mean the difference between selling a listing quickly and watching it become stale after weeks with no showings. The cost can start around $100, depending on your market, and a typical home photo shoot takes about an hour.
According to Realtor.com, a case study by IMOTO compared 350 listings with professional photos to 350 listings with ordinary photos.
The result: Homes with professional photos sold 50 percent faster, and 39 percent closer to the original listing price, than the homes without professional photos did.
What Can You Do With Your Professional Photos?
Naturally, you’ll want all your clients’ professional photos on the MLS so they appear in listing feeds all over the state… but you can do more.
The better picture quality you have, the sharper and clearer a home will appear in your print marketing, such as custom just listed postcards. They’ll look great on flyers, brochures, and other marketing materials, too. (For many agents, it makes sense to use a real estate mailing service to save time and money.)
Differences Between Real Estate Photos
While there may not be much you can do for a place like Catopia, an Arizona house completely dedicated to cats (seriously), high-resolution photos can make a tremendous difference. Remember, most people begin their home searches online—and your real estate photos need to be tailored to that market. High-resolution is the way to go; that way, they’ll look good whether buyers are searching on a desktop, a laptop, a phone, or casting from any device to a television screen.
(Check out the differences between ordinary and professional real estate photos on Buzzfeed.)
What About Matterport?
If you’re not using Matterport—particularly on your high-value listings—you’re behind the curve. Matterport photography creates a 3-dimensional visual tour of a home that potential buyers can use to walk through without hiring a real estate agent. (Want to see Matterport in action? Check out this house for sale in Fayetteville, NC.)
You’ll have to hire a specific photographer if you want to create Matterport tours; not all photographers have the technology. (While you’re at it, ask your Matterport photographer to create a slideshow that’s compatible with Zillow; the site doesn’t allow agents to directly upload Matterport tours in lieu of the company’s own walk-through tours). It takes a special camera to create these tours, which typically take between 60 and 90 minutes to photograph and several hours to render properly.
Have You Used Professional Photography in Your Real Estate Marketing?
If you’ve used professional photography in your real estate marketing efforts, we’d love to hear about your experience. Did you find that a home you had professionally photographed sold faster (or for more money) than those that had ordinary listing photos? What about Matterport?
Share your thoughts in the comments below, or visit Real Estate Calendars on Facebook to say hello!
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