Why is it important to use the Best Imagery for your home listing?

 

We have all seen those property photos on the Realtor MLS or Zillow that make you wonder “Do they not want to sell the house?” 

Sometimes listing photos have bad lighting, poor resolution, are blurry, or perhaps the house just was not ready to be photographed in the first place.

Listings which have poor quality imagery are the ones which are most likely to have a bad ending (many days on the market with a low sales price)… it is certainly not likely to be a fairytale experience where “all is good in the world”.

So, as a home seller… you know the kind imagery for your home that you do not want.  But, what would be considered the “polar opposite” of bad photography… what is absolutely “the best in the industry”?

 

The best in the industry imagery for your home will be in four separate but equally important channels:  Still Photography, Drone Aerial Images, 2D Floorplan Drawing, and Walk-Through 3D Tour.

Still Photography

The function of the still photography is to get the attention of the buyer, and elicit an interest in “more information” about the property.  All images should have excellent lighting and the best angles of the rooms… several “very good” images are much better than some “good”, some “bad”, and several “poor” images which should not have been uploaded at all.

Obtaining very good images starts with an experienced professional photographer with excellent equipment including a very high resolution camera and quality lenses.  The next step in the process is cropping the images and photoshopping out any unnecessary clutter (toys for example).  The final step is having the images enhanced by a High Dynamic Range Imaging HDRI server.

High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) image enhancement can significantly contribute to the marketing and sale of homes by providing visually appealing and realistic representations of properties. Here’s how HDRI image enhancement helps sell homes:

Setting a Positive First Impression: HDRI images create a positive first impression. They can entice potential buyers to explore the property further, either through virtual tours or on-site visits.

Enhanced Visual Appeal: HDRI enhances the visual appeal of property photos by capturing a wider range of light and color. This results in images with vivid colors, well-balanced lighting, and better clarity, making the property look more inviting.

Realistic Representation: HDRI technology enables the creation of images that closely mimic what the human eye sees. This realism helps potential buyers get an accurate sense of the property, including its features, lighting, and ambiance.

Increased Online Engagement: In the age of online listings, high-quality images stand out and capture the attention of potential buyers. Enhanced images lead to increased online engagement and more clicks on property listings.

Attracting a Wider Audience: Well-lit and visually pleasing images are more likely to attract a broader audience of potential buyers. HDRI helps in showcasing a property’s full potential, which can be especially important in competitive real estate markets or when the goal is to obtain multiple offers.

Conveying Value: High-quality images help convey the value of a property. Buyers are more likely to perceive a home as valuable if it is presented in its best light, both in terms of interior and exterior photography.

Faster Sales: Homes with high-quality images often sell faster because they generate more interest and attract serious buyers. A quick sale can be financially advantageous for both sellers.

In a competitive real estate market, where online listings play a significant role, the quality of property images is paramount. HDRI image enhancement helps create a lasting and positive impression, drawing in potential buyers and increasing the chances of selling homes more quickly and at a favorable price.

Very few real estate brokerages use the technology, but as a seller you should demand HDRI enhanced images if you really want the “best” still images possible for your home.

 

Drone Images

In many cases, there is no way better to demonstrate the architecture or fantastic location of a home within its market area than with aerial drone photography.

Sometimes a drone photo taken from up 30 feet in the air is the best way to show the spacious front yard of a home and its beautiful front elevation.

When a home has a special location near the beach, water, golf course, schools, parks, resort areas, or other amenities, a drone photograph from the air has a special an unique way of highlighting the home’s fantastic location.

The three most important aspects of a piece of property are:  Location, location, location.  And, drone photography is uniquely suited to achieve the task of illustrating the fantastic location of a home.

As a seller, you should demand drone photography of your home, and it should be done on a beautiful clear day whenever possible.  Drone images are an important component of “best in the industry” imagery for your home listing.

 

2D Floorplan Drawing

Merchant Home Builders, the ones that build all those subdivisions in your area, have long relied on 2D Floorplan Drawings as a part of their Marketing Plan.  These companies in some cases have thousands of homes to sell in a neighborhood over a period of only a few short years.  They have become “experts” in providing the information that buyers want to see when making a home purchase decision.

These builders always use 2D Floorplan Drawings a part of their marketing suite.  Why do they offer this marketing material to buyers…?  Because it works!  Buyers take home the floorplan and then begin to visualize how they would live in the home, how they would decorate it, where their furniture would go… this causes additional “engagement” by the buyer on an emotional level.  Once the prospective buyer sees for themselves how well the home would work for their family, the buying process is substantially advanced toward the goal of receiving an offer.

Interestingly the builders also come up with “catchy names” for the floorplans which adds emotional appeal.  While it is not necessary to “name” the floorplan for your home, it is certainly beneficial to have a quality 2D Floorplan Drawing.  The software is readily available to all realtors; however, some do not have the inclination or skill to create a drawing for your home.  Be certain the brokerage you hire creates a floorplan drawing as part of the “best in the industry” imagery for your home listing.

 

Walk-through 3D Tour

3D tours come in multiple formats.  There is “Room-to-Room” style of 3D tour which captures images of each room and is navigated with “tiles”.  The “Matterport” format popularized what became known as the Walk-through Virtual Tour.  Buyers came to learn & enjoy the format during Covid when touring homes was more difficult than today.

The current state-of-the-art Walk-Through 3D Tours have arrows and room names to help buyers navigate.  The best systems allow for icons to be placed throughout the tour to provide clickable information on appliances, finishes, and more.

Many brokerages do not use state-of-the-art Walk-Through 3D Tours because they are expensive in both time and money.  The tours require an expensive 3D camera, double or triple the number of images captured, naming of the rooms, and setting the views so that buyers enjoy the navigation through the rooms.   It is tedious and there is an “art” to getting it right.

However, all the effort is really worth it because no tool is better for expanding the buyer pool for your home to the highly qualified buyers who are find it difficult to drop what they doing and come see a home which just came on the market.  Sometimes these are buyers live locally and have a very busy schedule, sometimes they are traveling on work or pleasure, and occasionally they live out of the area and are shopping for a second home.  Regardless… the 3D Tour allows the buyer to experience the home, then decide make time or get on a plane to come to see it before another buyer purchases the home.

The value of the 3D Tour is not just for the family who purchases the home… the other value to the seller is getting additional qualified buyers to the home shortly after it comes on the market.  Getting just one additional buyer bidding on the home against one other buyer can make the difference between a higher sales price as well as better terms for the seller.

Be certain the brokerage you hire creates a Walk-Through 3D Tour as part of the “best in the industry” imagery for your home listing.

Summary 

Picture this… it is a fairly tale that could easily come true!

Once upon a time you decide to list your home using “best in the industry” imagery for your property.

Several buyers for your home saw the still photos and drone images… they were intrigued.  They printed the 2D Floorplan Drawing and visualized how the layout would be very comfortable for their family needs… finally the buyers took a Walk-though 3D tour and experienced virtually how it matched perfectly to their lifestyle.

Next step, they either made an appointment to see the home or they attended a scheduled open house.  The listing agent was certain to schedule showing appointments back-to-back to illustrate the high number of interested buyers, and as usual the Open House was busy with prospective buyers, neighbors, and realtors previewing the home due to the fantastic imagery.

Multiple buyers sensed that the listing was likely to sell quickly due to the high number of people looking at the home.  The buyer who flew in from Scottsdale to see the home was very surprised to learn they were the 5th showing for the day, and other buyers at the Open House were a bit distressed when they overheard a buyer all the way from Scottsdale was back for a second look at the Open House.

In the end, the buyers were well served by having all the imagery they needed to decide if they should come see the home in person, and there were several offers on the home.

You were able to sell the home for top dollar and… Everyone lived happily ever after.

 

Beware of the Big Bad Wolf

There are agents who want to list your home without doing “best in the industry” imagery for your home… and there are some that simply do not know how to create the images or just do not want to absorb the cost.  The only way to convince you to list your home with them is to tell you things like:

“The best imagery is not necessary to sell your home in this market.”

“That stuff does not work.”

“Buyers to not care about Walk-Through 3D Tours & 2D Floorplans.”

 

Consider this testimonial if you are looking for a realtor who uses “best in the industry” imagery for his home listings

Scot Campbell was recognized by fellow Coldwell Banker Office Managers at a regional conference for having the “Best in Industry Listing Imagery Package” for his listings.

“No one else comes close in his market area.” according to Chuck Whitehead of Coldwell Banker – Associated Brokers.

“His listing image package which includes:

>  Professional Photographer with years of experience
>  High Dynamic Range Enhancement for all Still Photos
>  Dramatic Aerials captured with 4K drone camera
>  Lifelike Walk-Thru 3D Tour with icon links to home upgrade info
>  Detailed 2D Floorplan Drawing to illustrate the layout of the home
>  YouTube Video with an assortment of “moving still” photographs

I would choose Scot Campbell to list my home if I was selling a property in the area!”

Scot Campbell can be reached via telephone/text at 714-336-0394 or email at SdCampbellRealtor@gmail.com