The statistical benefits of professional real estate photography

Australia’s top real estate agents use professional real estate photography in the marketing of their properties. So do those in the USA. Why? Because it gets results:

“Good photos will grab people’s attention and help you sell a home. Bad pictures will absolutely give you trouble, because you won’t have any calls on it, and nobody will come to see it.”
– Jacky Teplitzky, executive vice president of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate in New York

The statistics

According to a survey by America’s National Association of Realtors, 80 per cent of people across the country who bought a new home in 2006 used the Internet while house hunting, and they rated photographs as the most useful tool in their search. In fact, for people looking to buy a home, the photographs are more important than anything else you can throw at them.

I see these stats mirrored every day in my conversations with home owners. They’ve all seen the shockingly bad agent photos, where everything looks dark, and the Corn Flakes are left on the table (You don’t know what I mean? Take a look at the Unbelievably Bad Real Estate Photo Hall of Fame). And they all know that bad photos put them off checking out a home, and that good photos make a home more enticing.

But does it help to sell a home? You bet! Another study found that properties listed online with more photos sold faster than those with less photos. So a property with only 1 photo averaged 70 days on the market, but a property with 20 photos averaged just 32 days on the market.

Benefits for agents

So there are benefits for the home seller, but there are also benefits for the real estate agent:

“If things look shoddy or unprofessional, not only are buyers going to find the property unappealing, they’re going to associate you with being shoddy and unprofessional.”
– Rosalind Clarke, a senior sales associate with the Corcoran Group in Palm Beach, Florida

Again, Brisbane real estate agents are seeing this as well:

“Highshots Photography has helped our business grow with the amount of enquiry we now receive from all of our photo advertisements, and has also ensured we now appear as a professional business to the market place.” *
– Michelle Rodgers, Remax Wynnum

Find a professional

Given that so many people start looking online for their new home, it pays to use the very best, premium quality images you can. If you’re looking for a real estate agent to sell your home, check the listings online or in your local paper, and contact one that obviously uses a professional to photograph their listings. Or, do a search for a professional real estate photographer in your area, and organise it yourself.

* Disclaimer: I’m a director of Highshots Photography.