I spend a good amount of my day looking at various photos of homes listed on Homescape.com. From luxury abodes to foreclosed properties, what I've determined is that some agents just don't get it when it comes to marketing their client's properties. One of the most important tool an agent can use to market a home, are the photos. The old adage of "A picture speaks a thousand words," couldn't be more true when selling your home. But in some cases it doesn't say much if you don't use the right pics. I recently came across a great article on Inman News by real estate expert Bernice Ross about how too much exposure can also be a bad thing for a home seller.
Over exposure
In the article, Ross asked the question: Is it possible that too many pictures online is preventing buyers from looking at your property?
"The research is clear that having only a single photo of your listings online causes Web visitors to search elsewhere. The challenge is how much is enough and how much is too much? A new study from Point2 Agent suggests that the more pictures you have the better it is. Jeff Turner, the CEO of RealEstateShows.com, however, argues that based upon attention-span research, five to nine pictures is about all the brain can handle in 30 to 60 seconds," according to the article.
I personally will skip over a home listing with only one photo, compared to a post with six or more pictures. For some reason, I feel that a home listing that does not feature multiple pictures may have something to hide, even though that may not be the case. Most tech-savvy home buyers searching the Internet have little time to spare. The listings that provide them with the most detailed information will most likely be the ones that will motivate them to schedule a viewing.
This property listing, which features a picture of a run-down tool shed in the backyard reads: "Spacious backyard with covered cement patio and tool shed. Much more, a must-see!
Quality vs. quantity
The Point2 Agent study found that compared to listings with only one photo, those with 21 or more photos generated triple the number of detailed views, more than double the amount of interest and double the number of leads. But siding more with Turner's argument, I don't think quantity necessarily equates to quality when it comes to the number of photos you post on your Web site. Too many photos can overwhelm the potential buyer, and photos that show off unflattering details of the home can also detour visitors.
Like in any great novel, the details are the meat of the story. If there's junk piled up in the backyard of the home, either remove the debris and then take the photo, or don't photograph the area at all. I mention this example because I actually came across a listing for a home that featured a photo of a rusty shack that had old tires and junk stacked up next to it in the backyard of the property. The description of the home read "spacious back yard." One look at the shack, and it doesn't matter how big the yard is - most buyers are going to skip right over that home.
If the property has some less-than-picturesque rooms, and the seller can't afford to hire a stager, then it's best not to photograph these rooms at all. If you want to attract more potential buyers, three good pictures are better than 10 unflattering ones.
Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@homescape.com
There should be a class taught of how market a home thru MLS I saw on home pictured in MLS the listing agent posted sorry for the dark pictures they were taken at night GO FIGURE
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