… and professional photography is worth even more.
With personal cameras becoming cheaper and easier to use (not to mention cellphone cameras), it has become common for realtors to forgo the expense of hiring a professional photographer in lieu of taking photos on their own. While this can work if the realtor also has an artistic eye, or is trained in photography, the results can be rather obvious when comparing listing photos.
What is professional photography?
Great professional photography should be well-lit, properly framed, and convey the unique features of the property. It should pique curiosity and allow the buyers to see all of the features of the home and envision themselves living there. Professional photographers will spend time to correct the colors, crop, and edit the photos to enhance the appeal of the image. It often takes a trained eye to know what to fix, and that can be the difference between a great photo and just a decent one.
Why is professional photography important?
The importance of professional photography for real estate can not be understated.
According to the 2020 NAR Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends, the majority of all buyers found their purchase by searching the Internet. Those buyers, among all generations, cited property photos, detailed descriptions, floorplans and virtual tours as items they found “very useful” in making their purchasing decision.
When you are marketing a home for sale, you aren’t just marketing to buyers, but other real estate agents as well.
Agents look though the MLS the same way a buyer might look at homes on the Internet. The home layout and neighborhood are important, but what really captures attention is how the property looks in photos. Good photography could mean the difference between agents showing your property or passing it by. Investing in professional photography will make your listing stand out.
Not only is having quality photos on the MLS important, but many of the real estate listing syndicate sites, like Realtor.com and Zillow, pull information and photos for their world-wide audience. Properly formatted images, that show off the property well, are very important.
How can you use professional photography?
Are flyers, brochures, and post cards part of your marketing plan? Printed materials require high-resolution photography. A professional photographer will present print-quality photos for you to use for all your marketing needs. This could include images from the interior, exterior and aerial images all in high-resolution format.
Even in a tight market, any advantage you can give you listing to set it apart from the others is just good practice.