Researchers say your online dating profile is 75% more likely to be viewed if you have a picture than not. I find it no surprise that new research now shows pictures can actually increase the value of your home from $934 to $116,076. A study recently done by Redfin (a national real estate brokerage based in Seattle) compared the difference between list price and final sales price.
As an agent, I know that people automatically think “what’s wrong with it” if there are no photos, and frankly, sometimes no photos at all is better than the pixelated and blurry photos that look like they were taken with an ancient cell phone camera! So here are some tips for selling your home (of course, this means you haven’t asked me to sell your home…tsk tsk):
1. Make sure you have pictures up. Period. There are no options here. Cover these major items:
- Exterior – Front and Back
- Entrance from Front Door
- Kitchen
- Living Room
- Family Room (if appl)
- Basement
- Bedrooms
- Bathrooms
- View from Inside the House
- Garage (if appl)
- Amenities (if condo, such as pool/gym/etc)
- Some optional photos: neighborhood, street view, nearby metro
2. Make sure these photos are on all of the major websites. Some will automatically pull when uploaded to our local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) where properties listed for sale are “housed.” There are some sites where your agent will have to manually upload them…make sure they are.
3. Video Tour. This is great for people who are out of town and looking at properties online. I did a really simple walking tour using a Flip Camera for one of the properties I had listed. Here’s an example of a simple video tour.
4. Virtual Tour. It can’t hurt to have a virtual tour of photos over the floorplan. If you have a video and photos, you may not need all 3, but you definitely want to have some combination.
Here’s an example of a website I built for my latest listing in Seminary Walk that went under contract in 9 days:
You suckered me into this post Laura! Great title.
More to talk about over coffee on this one for sure, I know I will crack you up.
What a clever allusion!hee. I agree, it’s best to invest in a great camera, and take the utmost care in taking and uploading them. Most people are visually-centric, and a great photo will surely help entice people in viewing a property.