Real Estate Photography – What you need to know to sell your home.

Real Estate Photography: putting the odds in your favor.
Yeah, you have heard it a thousand times “A picture is worth a thousand words”, but it can also be worth a thousand potential customers. With today’s depressed real estate market you need to take every opportunity to create “Cyber-Curb Appeal”.

The Internet has become the first choice for many potential home buyers, real estate investors, and sellers looking to find out what homes similar to their own are selling for. Simply look through your local MLS service and you will see thousands of terrible home photos. Real estate agents and homes sellers must come to terms with the fact that the days of listing your home and receiving a dozen offers are now long gone.

In today’s market, getting back to the fundamentals of marketing is important. Seattle real estate broker, Lynn Robertson has seen the power of professional photography first hand. “Professional real estate photography has several effects; it drives more home buyers to our listings and website, it attracts new home sellers to my agency by demonstrating that we know how to professionally market our client’s home , and it helps boost our property management services too.”.

Steve Glover, a Seattle property manager, attracts both tenants and landlords through the use of professional photography. Steve specializes in leasing luxury view condos in Seattle and requires a photographer who can capture the beauty of the interior with the spectacular views Seattle offers all in one picture. “Landlords benefit greatly from professional real estate photography because we need to attract as many qualified tenants as possible to avoid months with no rental income. The other key aspect is that we eventually will need to re-list the property after a tenant’s lease has expired and having high quality pictures often shortens the time between leases.” Another benefit Steve finds is that he acquires new listings every week because a property investors and landlords have seen his listings and want their properties marketed in the same high-quality manner.

Not all real estate photographers are the same. Many work for larger companies and get paid by the number of houses photographed. As you can imagine, their motivation is not to capture and set up an image that will best market your house. They are simply looking to shoot and move on.The time of day can be equally important. Sunrise and sunset often provide the best natural lighting. Depending on which direction your home faces it may be important to schedule a specific time. For example, if your home faces east it will be best photographed in the morning. With larger companies this luxury may not be available so make sure you ask.What to look for in a professional real estate photographer:

• Use photographer that has a professional real estate photography gallery.
• Good photographers use professional lighting systems to create a perfectly illuminated rooms.
• Often professional photographers will only shoot during the best times so that they can use Nature’s lighting to highlight your home or property. Make sure you are able to request a specific time.
• Beware of photography assistants taking the photographs and not the company’s best photographer. Sometimes you are sold on the “A-Team’s” work and are given the “C-Team” to photograph your home.
• Ask to speak with clients. If they refuse ask yourself why not?
• Look for photographers who can provide quick turnarounds. Most properties should require 1-2 days of processing. Larger more complicated shoots could require longer, but make sure you ask and get it in writing.
• Work with photographers who guarantee the quality of their photographs and would be willing to re-shoot a property if the pictures are not up to par. Often professional photographers are more picky about their work than you will be, but it is nice to know they will take them again if things don’t work out the first time.

How much should I pay?

Real Estate Photography varies in price and often is dependent on the size of your home, where the property will be marketed (magazine vs. fliers), and the “visual assets” such as views, unique landscaping or other features that would require more photographic time to capture properly. Generally speaking, the bigger the house the more work and lighting a photographer will need to create great images.

Beware of companies that charge a flat rate or a one house fits all mentality. If you have an 8000 square foot house with panoramic views selling for $1.6 million and the company charges $150 for all houses you will likely receive images that will not market your house properly. Likely, you will be advertising this listing in real estate magazines with strict editing guidelines. This means if your photographs do not meet the photo-editors standards you may be denied publication. However, if you have an 750 square foot condo and are only posting the pictures on fliers and the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) this might be a perfect fit.

A good rule of thumb is between 5 – 10 cents per square foot. This means for an 8000 square foot house you should expect to pay between $400-$800 and for a 1500 square foot home between $75-$150. Again, if your home has spectacular views you may need to pay more in order to capture the true value of your property.

Harley Lever
www.HarleysEye.com