Aug 3, 2011

Why pick on bad real estate photos?

If you follow this site, you know that I occasionally like to showcase bad real estate photos of homes for sale in Dallas. I am not usually picking on the house, but on the photography. Not every home is a show place and taking photos that flatter an ugly house can be difficult. The ones I usually show are because the photo - not the property - is awful.

 When your home is for sale you are competing with hundreds of other homes and most buyers don’t have time to view them all in person. They make instant decisions about which homes to pursue based solely on internet listings. The photos of your property must be appealing enough to make them want to see more.

Here are the 4 important tips for your home’s photos:

1. Quality: Photos that are dark or blurry feel reflect poorly on the property. Every home should have decent photos. A nice, expensive house should have nice, expensive looking photos.

2. Quantity: Our MLS allows 25 photos per listing which every property should feature. And they should show key areas of interest to buyers. Two good angles of a living room are more important than showing a 3rd bathroom. If the property is a 1 bedroom condo and you just can’t get 25 good shots, then that is the only excuse to use fewer photos.
 3. Update the photos: It's August, but the photos still show bare trees or pumpkins on the porch? That tells the buyer that the home has been listed for a long time, and plants the seed that something could be wrong.
4. Move things around: Move clutter out of the shot and show the home at its best. People and animals should never be in MLS property photos. Move cars out of the way as well as anything really distracting.

A picture is worth more than a thousand words – it’s worth a sale!

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