I
am not a Real Estate Agent so this is coming from me as a buyer and also someone
who provides services/products to Real Estate Professionals.
Something that has always stumped me is the lack of photos on many listings I see on the internet.
Why am I blogging about this tonight?
Well because I am as a "buyer" searching various online directories for property. I have become very frustrated with the countless properties I have stumbled upon that have 1 or 2 photos or worse NONE. I have even seen things like "email me to see property photos". Maybe I am not like all buyers but when I see that I move right on to the next listing that has photos. When I see properties with no photos or only a couple, I keep on searching. Maybe it's my A.D.D. personality, I don't know, but I am wondering how many other buyers do the same thing. If so, how many potential buyers could you be loosing due to lack of photos?
So of course this got me digging some more.
I decided to analyze real estate listing flyers that were created through ClassifiedFlyerAds.com to see how many took advantage of uploading additonal photos (up to 25). Guess what? Only about 10% of people take advantage of the FREE additional photos, slideshows, and virtual tours. The flyers themselves can have 4 to 6 photos embedded within the main flyer page so maybe that is enough?? Or is it really?
As Real Estate Professionals here on ActiveRain - please shed some light on this. Why are there so many listings floating around on the internet with little or no photos?
This frustrated buyer is now signing off to go search for more listings that
hopefully have a ton of photos.
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Go Smart Solutions, LLC |
Very good advice! I can't tell you how many times I've passed up listings due to bad photos or no photos. When there are several homes on the market to choose from.. Make sure yours stands out!
I use the MLS listings to view photos to see if sites have been staged or not. There are so many with no photos at all...but there are alot that have non-staged photos on the site and then they email me back that it has been staged already. Why would you not post the best photos available for a property? Not good marketing at all in my opinion.
Not only do I not understand the lack of photos, but one thing that I don't understand is why some agents submit dark, distorted or inappropriate photos. I saw a recent listing with a photo of a rose bush but no kitchen photos.
Even real estate agents want pics to see the house. Sometimes they want to see if it is one they remember.
Great topic. Our MLS rules here require a photo posted within a few days of entering the listing. Another rule is our yard signs cannot appear in any photos. I wish the MLS had a flagging option, there would be so many more violations reported. I dont mind the yard sign rule. Its the no photo available for 4-5 days after the listing has been put on the market.
Speaking of bad photos, I love the ones taken from a tinted car with the mirror appearing in the corner of the photo. Or some photos with a mirror in them and you see the agent taking a photo of themselves and the room. Or when they take a street photo of the home with the agents car parked in front and thier car takes up 30% of the photo.
Thanks for getting me started and all worked up Misty, I was going to have a relaxing evening reading AR. Just joking, this was a great topic and needed to be posted. Hopefully people will take note of this.
Great post, I like most of the rest do not understand the lack of photos on listings. How hard is it to take a camera with you and take a few photographs at the listing presentation? Or at worst the next morning? I just don't understand it, and I probably never will. Our MLS gives us 48 hours to remedy the situation or the listing is removed. Still there are those that show up with no photos.
Misty this amazes me as well. Having lots of good photos is critical. It really blows me away when you see it on sites that have tons of traffic like Realtor.com.
Thanks everyone for your comments.
Michael - sorry didn't mean to get you worked up but your comment did make me laugh :). The agent car shot with the logo on the car facing the shot is one I have seen many times. Or the pictures of dark rooms or long dark hallways. I always think, "how spooky is that house" when I see photos like that.
Yes Bill that is what surprised me the most. I was searching 2 very popular sites and many had no photos.
Misty: You are so correct on this very important topic. So many listings are passed up for the lack of photos
It is no surprise to see how all the comments on this blog post agree that pictures are essential to a successful listing. Why then are there still so many out there that don't have pictures? Perhaps some services people use don't allow for many photos (gasp!), but then that still doesn't explain the poor quality or irrelevant photos. I guess it is one of those universal enigmas that will continue to baffle us for ages to come :)