Q. What motivates buyers to visit your property?
(other than price)
In your buyer’s mind .....
“Because it looks nice!”
A picture is worth a 1,000 words.
And while your broker will be responsible for hiring a great photographer, it’s ultimately the seller who is responsible for enabling the photographs to look great.
You've cleaned, decluttered and staged your home.
All your hard work has your home ready for showings. But there’s one final step .....
Getting your home ready for photographs.
Almost without fail, photographs will make your home's first impression.
- 93% of all buyers will use the internet at some point during their home search process.
- 98% of those buyers say that PHOTOS are the most valuable feature while shopping online.
In recognizing how important photos are to the home-shopping experience .....
it makes a lot of sense to have great photos — that grab your buyer’s attention — and get them to put YOUR PROPERTY on their list of homes to visit.
So what makes a real estate photo work?
Part of the answer certainly lies with the photographer. But another equally important part of the answer lies with the subject matter. If the subject is boring, can you make it less so? Does the subject have any charm? How can you make it more charming?
Think of the photographer as the single most important person to tour your property. Roll out the red carpet .....
As a Seller, it is very much YOUR JOB and to YOUR BENEFIT to bring out all the charm of your home for the photos that will ultimately capture your buyer!
So, how do you get that extra charm into a photo?
Think of it as “super-staging” for that one all-important person in your sales process. You won’t have to go through it for every showing, but for the photographer, you must go above and beyond .....
Staging your property gets you most of the way there — several companies in Summit County do this. And if interior design is not your thing, the stagers can be asked to style the photo shoot.
How to super-stage for the photo shoot .....
Light a fire in your living room fireplace!
Put the umbrella up on your deck with some chairs, a bottle of wine & half-filled wine glasses in the foreground and have your photographer capture a beautiful, relaxing picture.
Remove the hot tub cover and turn on the jets and your spa area will look far more appealing in the photo.!
Set your dining room table with your best flatware, light some candles and have some fresh flowers in a vase.
Put out a board game or jigsaw puzzle in an otherwise ordinary part of the home so the room looks more interesting in the photo
Move all vehicles and larger items out of the garage so the photos make that entire area look bigger!
Clear the kitchen counters prior to photos so the kitchen and work areas look bigger and more usable.
If you happen to be in a position that you can do the above for every buyer that walks through, great! If not, at the very least, do it for your photographer .....
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal
"..... listings with better photos command higher asking prices..... The surprising part is the tactic works."
Read the story in the Wall Street Journal.
Well planned and high quality photographs pay off.
Dedicated to Seller Profitability
Zak & Mike
cell: (970) 470-3060
email: zm@realestatesummitcounty.com
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