Great Photography Helps Sell Properties Quicker and for a Higher Price

Did you know that excellent photography impacts how quickly realtors sell homes and how much they get for those homes? It’s true. Potential buyers now expect to see photos of luxury homes to entice them to visit. It lets them “know what they are getting”, according to Redfin.com.

Here’s the research that led me to conclude that high quality photography helps sell homes more quickly and for more money.

What a simple search on “real estate photography” revealed

I Googled “real estate photography” and discovered plenty of great resources on the topic of the impact of photography on real estate sales.

Photo Quality Impacts Sales Price

First, I found a paper on PhotographyForRealEstate.net that detailed what buyers expect in real estate photography. The paper referenced two articles on the Redfin web site about real estate photography and why quality matters. One article described the positive price impact of photography; the other explored why photography matters. Redfin also did two case studies on how professional photography impacts home sales, the most recent from 2015.

RuxtaRealty has a useful infographic detailing how much more money a professionally photographed home sells for based on price:

$200,000 home: $934

$300,000 home: $3,145

$400,000 home: $5,743

$500,000 home: $6,811

$600,000 home: $7,129

$700,000 home: $9,370

$800,000 home: $18,819

Note that Redfin reports no advantage for professional photographs of homes less than $200,000 or more than $1 million. The average amount gained by using professional photographs is $3,400.

Professional Photography Sells Homes More Quickly

Redfin sifted through real estate data for 2015 and concluded that professionally photographed homes not only sell for more money, but sell more quickly. The site explains, “Because online searching and browsing is such a critical part of the home-buying process, it follows that a better-photographed home will sell faster because more people are enticed to visit the home and people know what they are getting before they even set foot in the home. Across all price ranges, homes with professional photos sold faster. In the million dollar range, professionally photographed homes sold four days faster, and those in the $400,000 range sold three weeks faster than their counterparts with amateur photos.”

Beyond selling more quickly, Redfin reports that professional photography is simply expected for homes selling for over $1 million. Even though the photos may not impact the actual selling price, potential home buyers likely won’t even consider a luxury home an option without seeing pictures first.

Listings with Photos Get More Time and Attention

I also discovered an article on MarketLeader.com that said a realtor has two seconds to interest a client in an online home listing without a photo, but has a full 20 seconds if the listing has a photo. That’s an 18-second difference!

Photographs are the first thing a prospective buyer looks at; 40 percent of the time they don’t even read the real estate agent’s remarks. Smartshoot.com states that 98 percent of home buyers who searched for a home on the Internet found photographs to be one of the most useful features on realtor websites.

It stands to reason that the better the photographs, the better the chance of getting a potential buyer interested in the home.

Why professional photographers matter

So what’s the difference between good real estate photographs and great real estate photographs? It’s not something that everyone instinctively knows or knows how to do. A professional photographer takes these things into consideration: identifying the “money shot,” taking crisp and sharp photos, and delivering the listing photos at the resolution that displays optimally online or in print.

Here’s why those things matter:

Redfin reports, “The sharpest 10 percent of photos sold at or above list price 44 percent of the time, while listings with average sharpness sold at or above list just 13 percent of the time.” That’s a huge difference! According to PhotographyForRealEstate.net, the exterior photograph of a property is the most important one. That photograph should be an eye-catching, attention-grabbing photograph. In addition, photographs have the most impact in a large slide show format. PhotographyForRealEstate.net recommends a minimum 800 x 600 pixel resolution photograph as part of an easily controllable, smooth slide show or virtual tour.

Unfortunately, many people think they take good photographs, yet in reality, their photos lack good composition, sharpness, and when displayed online, fail to display at the optimal resolution. They may also fail to identify the shot that makes a potential buyer take note and investigate the listing a bit deeper. A professional photographer knows how to get the shots that capture the attention of potential buyers and ensure they display optimally.

Relying on a professional photographer a no-brainer

With more and more home buyers researching real estate online, posting high-quality photographs of a property matters a great deal. In addition, given the impact on price and time to sell, the return on investment in a professional photographer seems like a no-brainer.

Good photography of a property entices people to visit a home and gives them a rough idea of what to expect when they visit in person. Poor photography can do the exact opposite.

An Incentive to Find the Perfect Photographer on PICR

I’m the founder and CEO of PICR, an online photography marketplace where you can easily search for, evaluate, and securely book the perfect photographer for your next real estate shoot. Click this link to browse through the profiles and portfolios of many local Portland photographers who have joined PICR. If you visit PICR through this link, I’ll contribute a $20 credit toward your first booking. I think you’ll find that booking a professional photographer through PICR is simple, convenient, and maybe even kind of fun.

Book a photographer now and sell your home for a higher price and faster!