Right photo, right Realtor. As the Internet continues to grow in penetration and functionality, it has become mandatory for property listings to have more than just one photograph. And increasingly so for home buyers. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), nine out of 10 house hunters initiate their buying experience on the Internet. Twenty-five percent admit that online real estate photography led to the acquisition of their current house. Second only to price, quality real estate photography is the most important part of selling a home. It has never been more important to portray property in a visually aesthetic light that serves to promote its best assets.
photographer or not, the twocovering elements most critical to the successful marketing of a home are the actual, physical appearance of the property and its Web-appearance. “Virtual tours are great to have,” says grandson of the original owner of the cabin who placed a for sale sign on the front lawn. “But you won’t see how great it looks until you see it with your own eyes.”
Many realtors offer a variety of services, from home tours to open houses and from marketing to placing the property on the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). While all of these services can be useful, say, a home with a long drive on weekend access or a multiple listing service listing in the Washington, D.C. area, various factors have to be considered before jumping into the grave tackle of real estate marketing.
For example, if you’re looking for value in regards to marketing and advertising a real estate listing, web exposure is the way to go. The more web traffic the listing gets, the more likely that buyers will find it and like it. An online photo gallery, whether it is from inside or outside the home, plays a major role in multiple ways. Most importantly, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then it certainly is worth presenting in the abbreviated manner of online submissions (owing web hosting fees of $99 a month or so) and in offline fly-by-night sites where all you see are a string of poorly spoken head shots. In addition, instead of creating a photo gallery of photos of the interior of your home, or of your garden and yard, “staging,” as it is called, can have the opposite effect, a negative one in that it may lead a disorganized and unappealing impression.
ol’ photo galleries and trip reports, while fun for your friends and family, may do you no good in the real world. You can get an overview of your own home, and what others have to offer by simply browsing similar-looking properties in a given area, but beyond that, unless you are having an open house, you are likely to get about the same sort of thing most drive-by buyers do, see a place that is fairly average, and decide to drive-by and leave.
The same is true up close and personal, as well. It is tricky to present someone else’s flaw with the sorts of accentuated details that are so typical of your own. And do you want to maximize the dollars you shell out for the house itself, which is right there on the front stoop, best serves as a sign of your investing acumen. First impressions are critical, especially with today’s, “B absentee at the senate telecom hearingsaca scam.” Like the rookie agent, and seasoned real estate agent, it is all of the little things that separate the men from the boys.