Your Home: Marketing a home with photography
Updated: 04/21/2012 12:08 PM
By: Innae Park
As the old adage goes, you never get a second chance at a first impression and nothing could be truer when it comes to trying to sell your home. With the majority of buyers perusing the web first in their quest to find their home, the pictures you put in listings and on-line can impact how quickly you sell and for how much.
“When we put the pictures into the actual multiple listing service, it's a viral effect and they actually get downloaded to hundreds and hundreds of real estate websites across the country. So it's very important to get that first impression right the first time with the right photos,” said realtor Willie Miranda.
When it comes to what your photos should feature in your home, Miranda said it is important to think about which rooms are your favorite.
“They want to see the big rooms, the kitchen, your master bedrooms, your living rooms, your dining rooms. The places that they are actually going to enjoy themselves with their family. Also, the outside. You want to make sure that you can take a look at the front yard and the back yard and get a really good visual of the neighborhood as well,” said Miranda.
When it comes to taking pictures, real estate agents often hire professionals for you to make your house look it's best. While it does mean spending a little bit more money up front, it could pay off in the long run.
“Houses being sold that have professional photography, in general, sell somewhere between 10 and 30 days faster than houses that don't. And since they sell faster, they actually even sell for a little bit more because they miss that price reduction that they didn't have to go through,” said professional photographer David Bibicoff.
Another thing you want to do is make sure your home is "photograph ready".
“Some of the tips that we give to our sellers is to make sure that they don't have a lot of stuff in their home. Like dishes in the sink, cars in the driveway, a lot of time we'll see animals in the pictures,” said Bibicoff.
Something to keep in mind when you do put photos of your home up in your listing, is that when people come to see your home physically, it should match what the pictures show
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