How can great home photographs increase your sale?         << Back

Buyers consistently rate photos as the single most useful tool in their home search. So what does this mean for you, the seller? In this busy market, it is more important than ever to make sure your home stands out from the rest.

Imagine that you are perusing a dating website and see two people who could be your perfect match. They're the right age, have the same likes and dislikes...you get the idea. Now you look at their pictures. One person uses their old high-school photo, complete with '80's hairstyle, pimples, and braces. The other uses their new company head-shot; crisp, clean and with a great smile. Who are you going to call first?

Selling your home is a lot like that on-line dating service. The photos you put out there are going to be the first impression a buyer gets of your home -- and maybe the only impression! If there are lots of properties that meet their criteria, a buyer is going to visit the homes that they are the most attracted to. So make sure your photos don't have potential buyers quick-clicking away from your listing.  

Recent studies show that homes with 20 or more photos sell twice as fast as homes with only one photo (32 days on the market compared to 70 days on the market)! Listings with 20 photos also generate nearly 10 times the leads and 15 times the views as listings with 1 photo. If you are trying to attract people to your sale, the easiest way is to use many great photos.

And it seems that all the interest generated by having multiple photos pays off in getting more dollars as well. In the U.S., homes that had 6 or more photos sold for 95% of their original asking price, compared to getting 91.2% for listings with only 1 photo. That translates into thousands of dollars more in your pocket, just for putting more pictures on your listing!

So here are some quick tips to make sure your home gets the best photos:

1. Ask your real estate agent or listing company who is going to take the pictures. Are they a professional photographer, is it the agent, or do you have to provide them yourself?

2. Have a look at some sample photography or the photographer's portfolio and see if it is attractive.

3. Does the photographer use a wide-angle lens and a quality camera and tripod? Or are they just snapping a couple of pictures with a simple camera or, even worse, their cell phone?

4. How many photographs does the listing allow for? If you can get over 20 pictures, you are probably going to get the most buyer attention.

The more questions you ask, and the more you take control of your sale, the better your chances of success. And don't forget, the camera doesn't lie, so be sure to clean and de-clutter your home to have your photos looking their best.

Decent quality pictures make a subtle statement about the home's value; obviously a home that has been given stellar photographic treatment must be worth such treatment. Despite the importance of cold, hard facts (the living room is 12x12 feet; the property is 3 acres), giving home buyers great pictures to look at is going to be what makes them call or email. Humans respond to visual cues. You can spout facts and figures all over the listing, but it won't equal the power of the beautifully staged photographs of the "large sitting room, perfect for entertaining" and the "stunning view of the lake".

An alternative is to hire a professional photographer, who has high-quality equipment and experience with photographing real estate. Often, these people have tricks of the trade that can make dark spaces look bright and small spaces look larger. Their fee can save you a lot of time and effort producing photos that don't really give the home the look you want it to. Consider this route especially if you are too busy to take the time to take pictures and modify them to suit the site or MLS you're posting them on.

Buy, borrow or hire a good camera. It's more than worth the money and time. Pictures can make or break your listing. Use them wisely, use them a lot and make sure they showcase the great points of the property while minimizing the defects.