How Real Estate Photos Sell a Home Faster

Now more than ever, images are vital to real estate success. Recent studies show that 99% of millennials use the internet when looking for a home, and 70% of the Silent Generation (those born before 1945) found properties online. With so many buyers researching homes on the internet, there’s no denying it: real estate photos are vital to a successful sale.

However, not just any photos will do. The quality of those images directly correlates to the time the home sits on the market. Quality real estate photos sell a home faster, and often for a higher price.

Why Real Estate Photos Matter

First impressions matter, both in relationships and in real estate listings. Don’t believe us? Check out these statistics:

• You have just two seconds to grab a buyer’s attention if your listing doesn’t have a photo. But adding a photo increases that time to 20 seconds.
• Listings with high-quality photographs (professional photos with a DSLR camera) sell 32% faster than other homes.
• Buyers are 61% more likely to view a listing with photos than to view a listing without photos.

Are you getting the picture (pun intended)? Superior photographs aren’t optional for real estate agents. If you want to sell the property faster, at a higher price, you need to make sure the photos are exceptional. These same studies also looked at the correlation between photo quality and home sales. As you might imagine, those listings with crisp, symmetrical, well-lit photos attracted more views than other properties.

Real Estate Photos That Work

For best results, hire a professional. They’ll know how to stage the room, how to make every space appear larger, and how to highlight the property’s best features. Plus, most professional photographers have access to digital editing software to make sure each photo looks perfect before it’s added to the listing.

However, if you’re determined to take photographs yourself, ditch the iPhone and invest in a DSLR camera, a tripod, and some photo editing software. Nothing turns a buyer away like blurry images, dark lighting, or odd angles that make the room look off-balance.

Our comprehensive guide, “5 Tips to Improve Your Real Estate Photography,” will walk you through the basics.

How Many Photos Should A Real Estate Listing Have?

It’s not just quality that counts. The quantity of photos matters, too.

Adding too few photos to a listing won’t give buyers an accurate depiction of the property. Too many pictures will overwhelm potential buyers, causing them to leave the listing and go on to the next one. You’ll want to add just enough photos to draw the buyer in, but not so many that they get bored and move on to the next listing.

While you don’t want to overwhelm potential buyers with too many photos, you should include enough to give a good sense of the layout and unique details of the home. Include pictures from various angles (don’t make them all wide-lens images, for instance), but try not to upload more than 2-3 of each space. Highlight upgrades and unique features that make the home stand out from the competition. Photos should feature the front and back exterior of the house (including the yard), each bedroom and bathroom, living space, laundry or bonus room, and multiple images of the kitchen.

Create a Listing That Highlights Your Photos

While real estate photos are important, they’re not the only element to a real estate listing. Once you have the best possible images of the property, it’s time to create a listing that brings those pictures to life.

If the picture is what catches the buyer’s attention, the description is what keeps them engaged. Create your description around the photos to give context to what they’re seeing.

• Start with a captivating headline sentence that highlights the home’s best features.
• Give the details buyers want: home size, neighborhood, school district, and amenities both in the home and in the surrounding community.
• Elaborate on what makes the home stand out from its competitors. Look at the property photos and make sure you’ve explained the unique features of each, giving written context to what the buyer has already seen in the images.

High-quality, professional photos are crucial to today’s real estate business. With buyers finding their homes almost exclusively online, real estate listings must provide an accurate portrayal of a property. Our suggestion? Hire a professional photographer who knows how to make every home look exceptional. It’s worth the investment for you and your clients.