I was out house hunting today with a first time home buyer seeking to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit. We had a line up of homes that were relatively new to the market. And since we were searching under the $250,000 price range where homes have multiple offers in no time, I had my doubts if any of the homes would be available by day's end, not to mention next weekend when this particular buyer will be ready to make his offer.
We saw some great options. And there were slews of business cards in every one except for two. One was an age restricted community listing, for those 55 or older. Didn't surprise me that we were only the second ones through. Limiting the age of buyers has a tendency to limit showings. It's not rocket science. The second listing, however, shocked me.
It was a condo, priced extremely reasonably, in a sough after location. Considering the list price, and talking with the buyer about the lack of interior pictures, I wondered if we would have a lung disease when we left. One anticipates that when there are no interior pictures that a house may be in questionable condition. Realtors and buyers are no different in making that assumption.
Walking inside, it was plain that this condo was IT! It was beautifully staged and showed off every positive it had. My stomach turned as I searched for the multitude of business cards of agents that had been through. There was only one. I could come to only one conclusion:
NO INTERIOR PICTURES IN THE LISTING MEANS VERY LITTLE TRAFFIC.
Since my buyer is waiting for his significant other to join him next weekend to make their final choice, we are hoping that this agent will continue with his two week streak of having no pictures added to the listing. Sad that the listing agent went to all the trouble of advising his seller to simplify, declutter and stage their home, and doesn't have the pictures to show to the buyers shopping online. This condo is not getting the traffic it should and I'm sure the seller is wondering why.
This all works to my buyer's advantage, but it really does give a prime example of why taking interior pictures of a listing is so important.
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