Times have changed. Over 90% of all real estate consumers now use the internet as part of their home search. This means many homes now either "get cut" or "make the cut" based on their online appearance. Poor photos drive buyers away, while great photos can generate loads of showings.
For example:
Check out these photos from a listing on the west side of Madison. This property spent a total of 11 months on the market, back in 2004 when the market was hot.
Now check out these photos. These photos are for the same home, for a listing 4 years later. Shawn Kriewaldt and I hired a professional photographer as part of our marketing plan for this listing. These photos helped to generate 14 showings and 2 offers in 14 days. The sellers accepted an offer on the 17th day and will be closing later this month. Not bad for a slow market.
Notice how the rooms for each photo in this listing appear brighter and more spacious. Our photographer uses a wide angle lens and adjusts for lighting to give each photo maximum impact.
Hiring a professional photographer increases our financial investment in our marketing plans, but it's worth every penny. First, the costs are relatively inexpensive. Second, the benefits are tremendous. Professional photos help our homes to sell more quickly, and our clients love the results.
You'll notice the above listing also benefited from new paint and new carpeting, as well as the services of an interior designer (which we also included as part of our marketing plan). We'll cover staging ideas in future posts.
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