Taken with our own camera

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  But in real estate, a picture is worth much, much more.  The pictures that homebuyers see online are often the first – and sometimes the only – chance that a seller gets to make a good impression. 

Since more than 90 percent of homebuyers start their search online (according to NAR’s 2009 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers), pictures are the first thing that buyers see.  Good pictures will grab buyers’ attention, making them want to see a home.  This leads to lots of showings, and often a faster sale which usually means more money.  Alternatively, bad pictures will lead to few calls and even fewer showings.  The number of showings are important because if you don’t get showings, you won’t sell the house. 

Taken by a professional photographer

In addition to good photography, a floor plan is important to show buyers “”virtually” how rooms flow within a house.  There are lots of options today regarding good photography and floor plans, and one of our favorite people to use for this is John Ovrebo with House-Maps.com.  He creates custom websites for our listings, with an interactive floor plan where visitors can click on a camera icon to view a photo of that particular room. 

Here are some custom property websites that John has created for us:

But there is little point in having good photographs and a floor plan if you don’t have a house that will back up your photos by showing well.  As agents, we will do our job by having professional photos taken and a floor plan drawn, but sellers need to do their part by getting their house “show ready”.  This means clearing off clutter from counter tops and surfaces.  Remove as much stuff as possible from your home, leaving only a few items such as nice pieces of furnature.  It is also good to remove all personal items, so that buyers can visualize themselves in the house, rather than just looking at your family’s personal portraits. 

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