Anyone do residential real estate?

[manaheim]

Ran across an article recently touting pro photos for residential listings as a great way to raise the sell price. Turns out that on the average listing (ie normal homes), it averaged only $1000 more, lol.

Not much of an incentive to pay big bucks for the pro shots.

There primarily isn't much incentive because the RE agents manage to sell plenty of homes with cheap/marginal pictures.

This is a harsh thing to say, but I've found many of the agents I've spoken to unable to make the connection to "better pictures=faster sales=more sales per year=more money", and this includes a couple of them who I have sat with and watched as they got like 2-3x the traffic in an open house and more than 50% of the people said they came because of the pictures.

The industry as a whole just doesn't get it.

You MAY find an agent who does, but it will be a rare find.

 

[bentcountershaft]

There was an article on Yahoo one day last week describing how good photos help sell a home. I'll see if I can find it.

Here it is.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Ran across an article recently touting pro photos for residential listings as a great way to raise the sell price. Turns out that on the average listing (ie normal homes), it averaged only $1000 more, lol.

Not much of an incentive to pay big bucks for the pro shots.

There primarily isn't much incentive because the RE agents manage to sell plenty of homes with cheap/marginal pictures.

This is a harsh thing to say, but I've found many of the agents I've spoken to unable to make the connection to "better pictures=faster sales=more sales per year=more money", and this includes a couple of them who I have sat with and watched as they got like 2-3x the traffic in an open house and more than 50% of the people said they came because of the pictures.

The industry as a whole just doesn't get it.

You MAY find an agent who does, but it will be a rare find.

Just in case you don't know, I used to invest in RE and I never saw a photo that actually showed the property as it actually looked. So, I never paid much attention to the photos.

Did it bother me? Not really. I just learned to look at the important stuff when selecting the properties I would go and look at. And the photos were not one of those.

I once thought that it might be a factor in the sale of the pricey properties out there but I don't anymore. In this case people are buying to impress more than anything else so the photos are even more useless. To a certain extent. There is always the odd man out.

That said, I am an odd man out myself and that means that what I feel about this whole thing can be wrong. However, I don't see the money in it and, from reading threads on this forum, I don't see anyone making money from it.

 

[manaheim]

If you were investing then you likely had more experience than Joe and Carol Q. Homebuyer.

Pictures are what get Joe and Carol Q. Homebuyer interested enough to go look. There's no denying that.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

If you were investing then you likely had more experience than Joe and Carol Q. Homebuyer.

Pictures are what get Joe and Carol Q. Homebuyer interested enough to go look. There's no denying that.

No, not really. Joe and Carol Q. Homebuyer learn very quickly that the 1 (ONE) photo that shows up in most RE advert is not very likely representative of the property. Either that or they are brain dead...

And, yes, they are

Hey, laugh with me here, when my wife and I started investing, I got interested in a property that we were selling, LOL.

I did not recognize the place from the 1 photo... but it did fit our investment idea.

 

[manaheim]

As always, you know best.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

As always, you know best.

No I don't. Which I said earlier.

But if you want an excuse to go and shoot RE, just go and do it. And don't bother asking what others think.

And please come back in a few months to let us now what kind of miracle fortune you made .... LOL.


IF YOU ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER, WHY ASK THE QUESTION?

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Just as an after thought:

Photography and RE both require one of the same ingredient to make them work: creativity.

 

[bill-y]

I am a RE agent and amateur photographer and as the market slowed down I do plenty of outside work for other agents. High end listing one hour photo time, one hour edit of photos, purchase a domain, build quick website for listing, numerouse slide shows on site, five dvd's. all for $225. For a few hours work I will gladly accept $225. I would love to do 10 per week, I'm not proud.

 

[manaheim]

As always, you know best.

No I don't. Which I said earlier.

But if you want an excuse to go and shoot RE, just go and do it. And don't bother asking what others think.

And please come back in a few months to let us now what kind of miracle fortune you made .... LOL.


IF YOU ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER, WHY ASK THE QUESTION?

Look at the date on the thread. I know the answer NOW. I didn't then.