Why hire a professional real estate photographer
Why Hire a professional Real Estate Photographer?
So, should you hire a professional real estate photographer. That's a question I hear from many real estate professionals. Heck, retail stores, web and SEO companies. I get that question quite a bit. Without sounding like an evangelist I'm going to give you 7 real facts, not opinions if you are considering hiring a professional to photograph your listings for sale. My goal is to give you the confidence to grow your real estate business and be looked at in the real estate industry as a forward thinking, serious, professional sale agent. So, without wasting time let’s get started.
1) Redfin, a real estate company that uses technology and customer service to wow clients states, listings shot with DSLR professional photography receive 61% more online views than their competitor listings. That should be enough to make you pick up the phone and call a pro right now!
2) The quality of the images in your listings. 95% of people looking for homes start online. Studies show that on average a buyer looks at an image for 20 seconds and moves to the next. You have a short time to give them a reason to choose your listing as a potential option. Don’t lose them as a buyer and most importantly, give your seller more of a chance to sell their home, fast! We’ll get to that later.
3) Higher purchase prices from professionally shot homes for sale. The Wall Street Journal says that at the closing table homes can sell for $900-$116,000 more than a home not professionally photographed. Yes, you are reading that correct. Up to $116,000 more.
4) Redfin also did a study on how much quicker homes sold. Based on the results, homes that are photographed by a pro sold three weeks faster in the $400,000 price range. This increase in sales dates not only makes your sellers happy but you get paid faster and increase your odds of that seller referring you more business.
5) Social media. When posting online to twitter, facebook, Google+, etc. You are putting your work out in the ether and trying to elicit a response. I have agents that are known for their images. Believe it or not, people are watching and the mind share on the internet and the people you reach mean more than you know.
6) Lets be brutally honest here. Owning a professional DSLR camera does not make you a photographer anymore than owning a set of pots and pans makes you a chef. Professional photographers do photography for a living. They practice often, and they know lighting, angles and composition. They know how to take an ordinary room and make it look extraordinary.
7) Image. Yes, the same reason agents need to dress well, have nice vehicles and speak with intelligence, etc. Image is everything in the real estate industry, listing homes using a point and shoot or cell phone camera are not only making you look unprofessional but not giving your clients the best service they could get from another agent. It’s about the whole package here folks. I hate to be the one to say this but it does matter. Trust me, the agents I shoot for have different reputations and treat their business as living breathing organism. Thier business is made up of the sum of all it’s parts. My passion runs deep as I am a member of my board of Realtors and an active agent as well. Trust me, I know what it takes and the difference is big. I know this might not sit well but I am here to tell the truth and not fluff roses.
This is all part of growing your business and being the best agent your client can hire. After all, we are here to sell someones home. Don't you want to be the best?
