Are Pictures Important for Real Estate?

I picked up and expired listing once. When I met with the seller I asked why the MLS didn't show any bedroom pictures. The seller didn't even know. He hadn't even looked at his own listing. I corrected that problem. We staged, took some great photos, did a virtual tour and got the home sold.

As a loan officer I also appreciate good pictures.  When I am trying to get a feel for the quality of the property and an evaluation of the collateral, pictures help me a lot.  The better the picture the better I like it.  Takes away some of the guess work and conjecture.  Thanks for the post and the reminder.

Stacia -- You're surely not the only visual person. Those pictures can make or break a listing.  Also, the number matters as well. If too few, prospects think there's something wrong with the property.

     As a professional there are many resources available to us; unfortunately, many fail to recognize the importance of minor details.  We see too many poorly composed photos with dim lighting and ghost like reflections.  While point and shoot cameras are inexpensive they fail to deliver the quality necessary for a professional.  I recommend a camera with an external flash to fill in dark areas combined with the use of an automatic white balance.  Another option to consider is virtual staging when actual staging is out of the budget.  When renting furniture for your property sale is not an affordable option there is an alternative; virtual staging.  Staging property is a necessary merchandising element for sellers to differentiate their products from the competition.  Inexpensive do it yourself programs are available; however, the quality is not considered professional.  By utilizing a designer you will spend less time, effort and money; thereby increasing your net profit. 

a picture tells a thousand words and as previously said if the seller does not want many pictures because the house doesn't look good, the answer should be well we need to make it look good, it used to be we needed curb appeal to get people to want to enter the home now with the internet we neede to go a step further photos lack of, or bad ones can make a prospective buyer skip to the next one on the list.

It is not very difficult to take a lot of photos if the house is in decent condition.  It is good to take photos from different angles.  One of the things that is my personal pet peeve is an agent who doesn't change photos as the seasons change.  Nothing like this won't last - Listed in July and photos of snow on the Deck! 

I was just showing condos in a building that is under construction...and of course the photos are wanting - and I think it DOES discourage showings...Of course in this case it is unavoidable. However, buyers often ask me why the photos are so wanting in many homes.  My answer is "I don't know!"

Property photos are one of the biggest selling points of our services and they set us apart from even most of the real estate agents in our area.

Gretchen

But just because you can have 25- 30 pics, does not mean you have to . When you have a small condo or small house, that many pictures is overkill and repetitive. Quality photos over quantity.

Excellent post Stacia!  I am personally so tired of seeing listings on MLS with only one exterior photo.  My first thought: What are you hiding?

I think they are important as well.  It bothers me big time when I look for a listing and it has only the required one photo.

Pictures are worth a thousand, or in our case a few $$$thousand, words. I have sold homes before simply because the buyers saw my photos, and it drew them to want to see the home. I showed one of my listings last weekend to the President of another real estate company simply because of my online photos! Just this last week, I saw another agent that has a listing close to my home with incredible photos. They were taken by a photographer that I have never heard of near out area. The agent paid about $230 to the photographer to help advertise his $719,000 listing. They were worth it! I'm an amateur photographer, and I'm very picky with my photos going back multiple times to get the right photos, if necessary. It really irks me to see a million+ dollar listing with horrible, or no photos!

Pictures are important in a listing.

If a house or rental has no pictures I do not sent it to clients since their first comment is going to be "where are the pictures".

Photos sell the homes and the more photos the better. People want to see the kitchen, the living areas and those special areas of the home where they will spend quality time.

5-8 quality photos can be better than 25 low quality photos. Some agents think they have to take as many as their MLS allows, which can be the wong approach at times if the house isn't that large and you just can't find a way to take 25 good photos. I saw a listing today where the agent appears to be just looking for anything to fill up the space. There was a picture of a flower, then a zoomed in photo of the bloom, a little tree in the yard, a close up of a window on the house, etc. Just ridiculous use of photos.

Pictures are more important than ever. Given the ease at which pictures can be posted or uploaded to sites, and then viewed by buyers may be the most powerful part of marketing my listings.

You have to have great, sharp, clear photos. You want to stand out from your competitors and look like a million. Nice post Stacia

Dave Williamson

American Mortgage and Equity Consultants

www.davepwilliamson.com

Stacia,  It still amazes me some of the pictures I see on listings. Or when I see none at all. CRAZY. Pictures are everything.