
Most sellers want to move their homes as quickly as possible. To attract the interest of potential buyers, it helps to put considerable thought into the details of the home listing. This includes adding high-quality photos along with the property’s description and price. Thinking of selling a home? Here are four reasons why creating a listing that integrates quality home photography helps a property sell more quickly.
1. Attracts More Buyers
Many buyers these days purchase homes sight unseen because they can take virtual tours and get a good feel for a house. However, a good number of buyers are still interested in taking physical tours. Either way, good photos attract both groups of home seekers. Those buying sight unseen will want a comprehensive overview of the property, while buyers scheduling viewings will want to see good photos to help them decide if a listing is a yay or a nay when it comes to choosing which homes to view.
Posting a variety of photos with the listing boosts the number of interested buyers, but also offers a competitive edge over other listed properties in the neighborhood. Without photos, the chances increase that otherwise interested buyers will skip over the property to explore other local listings that feature multiple images.
2. Homes Sell Faster
Historically, property listings offering professional photos of its interior and exterior features will move on the market more quickly. In fact, sales figures back this up as the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reports homes showcasing high-quality images sell much faster than those with poor imagery. NAR also reports more than 7 in 10 real estate agents say photos, videos, and virtual tours have increasingly become more important since 2020.
While some homeowners take their own pictures, they rarely know how to stage their homes and what angles to take the photos. On the other hand, professional photographers instinctively know the type of lighting, vantage points, and editing needed to create images that grab the eyes of potential homebuyers. They also know what time of year is best for photographing a home, for instance, it’s generally best to take photos before winter sets in. A professional can skillfully tell a story through photographs and better help buyers make the journey from being a prospective buyer to an active bidder.
3. Helps Buyers Envision Possibilities
Many sellers make one of two major mistakes when they prep their homes for sale. They either don’t declutter, keeping all their personal belongings scattered throughout their homes or they empty them completely and showcase empty rooms. The latter helps buyers envision their belongings in the home, but the vision stops there. Staged photos can enhance their imagination. By carefully staging and photographing a home with furniture, décor accents, and other generic touches, sellers can help buyers see possibilities for their new home. In fact, NAR reports a whopping 82% of buyers’ agents say staging helps their clients better visualize themselves living in a home.
4. Buyers Expect Good Images
Ultimately, today’s buyers expect to see good images when they look at real estate listings. In fact, they not only assume photographs will be listed, but they also want to see a variety of imagery, including 3D tours, virtual tours, detailed floor plans, and other types of media. NAR found in its Generational Trends Report, buyers today are “incredibly visual,”. This means moving forward, listings that showcase a handful of photos, even good ones, will be behind the curve when it comes to attracting buyers. Investing in home photography and other imagery initiatives ensures potential leads to move to the next step of the homebuyer process.
Investing in home photography is definitely worth the effort when selling a home. NAR’s findings indicate homes with one or just a handful of photos spend twice as long on the market as those with 20 or more images posted. Photos are a home’s first impression and, as the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words – imagine what 25-50 pictures can say! Connecting with a knowledgeable local real estate agent can help discover home photography tips and other best strategies to sell your home more quickly.