Each day as I look through hundreds of listings on the OKC MLS the photos never cease to amaze me. I see Aunt Bettty poking her head around the corner, Realtors taking pictures of themselves in the mirror, last nights dinner still sitting on the counter top, laundry on the floor, chochkties everywhere. People, do you really want to sell your house? And, what was the hiring criteria for your Realtor? Holy moly.
Pictures are such a HUGE part of marketing your home. They are the first step in getting buyers interested enough to set up an appointment to see your home in person.
Let me share a recent situation with you. I recently got a listing as the third Realtor. The first Realtor had one single picture up for about 10 days before the client finally took some pics and sent them over. Only then did the Realtor come take interior pictures. When she did take the additional pictures, she never asked the sellers to move anything so their kids toys were all you saw in every picture. The sellers ended up releasing Realtor 1 from her duties. Along comes Realtor 2 and she decides to use the first Realtor’s pictures. After six weeks and only 3 showings between the pair, they released Realtor 2 and called me. I came over, looked at the house, decided the house was priced well and a fabulous find at that but there was too much stuff sitting around. I asked them to move some large items to the garage, store the bulk of the toys in the closets and remove some knick knacks. Then I took about 300 pictures which I later came home and weeded through to make the final cut, edited the brightness and color, stitched them together for a virtual tour, etc. I uploaded the listing to the MLS with 17 well thought out pictures of a very tidy home and a virtual tour. We ended up having three showings in the first three days. The houses ultimately brought asking price, 22 days on the market.
84% of home buyers search for homes online. If there is only one picture of the exterior, their first conclusion might be that there is something wrong with the inside. If they see that you are too lazy to pick up your dishes when you know the Realtor is coming to take pictures, they are concerned that you probably don’t maintain your home or the mechanical systems either. Realtors need to be candid with their clients when it comes to this matter. By not addressing it head on, this is bound to create an uncomfortable conversation weeks in when there has been zero activity because buyers just don’t find the listing attractive enough to go see in person.
A few tips for taking photos of your own:
- Clear the room- Remove excess/over-sized furniture. If your furniture is too big for the space, your space will look smaller than it is.
- Minimize the clutter – Pair down decorations. Leaving a vase here or a plant there is fine but no one needs to see your entire cookie jar collection.
- Remove personal items – Pictures, awards and the such are a distraction to most buyers. We are all curious about the people who live in the house but the buyer may focus more on you than the house and if they don’t remember the house, they probably aren’t buying it.
- Turn on the Lights – All of them! A well lit house photographs and shows better. While you are at it, open the curtains too.
- Back up a Bit – Get as far outside of the room as you can without photographing the door frame.
- Fill the Frame – When photographing the exterior, fill the frame with the house. We don’t need to see the curb or your for sale sign. The pictures on the MLS are tiny at first glance. Give ‘em something to look at that will capture their attention.
If you have a Realtor whose pictures resemble the story above, talk to them. Tell them that you want pictures that represent your home in a positive light. Don’t standby and be victim to this scenario. If they cannot or will not provide proper pictures, release the listing and find someone who will.
For more examples of my listing photos please visit my Real Estate Collection on Flickr.
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