Once upon a time Goldilocks wanted to sell her lake front home. So, she hired a local Realtor. After some time passed, Goldilocks began to wonder why she was not getting any showings and she decided to go on Realtor.com to see what her house looked like on the internet. She had read that over 85% of all home buyers begin their home searches on the internet.
To her dismay, the pictures were absolutely awful. They were TOO BRIGHT. It looked like she lived next to a nuclear test site, and not a beautiful lake. Thank goodness her listing with this agent would be over soon.
When the listing expired, Goldilocks hired another Realtor. She made it very clear to the agent that she, "wanted to see the lake and show how beautiful it was in the photos". So, the agent came and took the photos and Goldilocks anxiously waited for them to appear in Realtor.com.
To her dismay, you could see the lake but the pictures were TOO DARK and you could not see anything on the inside of the house. So Goldilocks told the agent she really wished that she could clearly see both the beauty of the lake AND the inside of the house. Not knowing much about exposure control and photography, the agent said, "I did the best I could". After the listing expired the 2nd time, Goldilocks was growing weary.
When it was time to hire the 3rd agent, Goldilocks asked on the listing appointment, "Can you take good photos that will show the beauty of the lake outside, and still be able to see the inside of my home"? "Absolutely", said agent #3, "I hire Amazing Video Tours to come and do all the professional photography and full motion video tours for all my listings."
When the photos and full motion video tour hit Realtor.com, Goldilocks was delighted! The photos were JUST RIGHT and she was amazed with the full motion video tour.
They got showings on the house and soon had a contract. Goldilocks sold her home and lived happily ever after.
Moral of the story - It's true, according to the NAR, over 85% of all home buyers begin their home search on the internet. Your listing photos are the best chance of drawing them in and getting them to set up a showing. You owe it to your seller to take great photos, or hire a pro to do it for you. Remember, inventories are up and there is plenty to choose from. Buyers are using photos to rule a listing OUT, not in! If the photos are bad, they'll go right on to the next listing.
Comments(11)