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Want To Sell A House? Better Stage A Photo Shoot

Libby Kane
Libby Kane
Posted on October 6, 2010

Point-And-Shoot No Longer Makes The Grade.

Real estate listings with great pictures sell better. Obviously! We charming humans are all about appearance. We trust our eyes to an irresponsible degree—the expression “I’ve seen it with my own eyes!” speaks to that. So a better picture leading to a better sale makes perfect sense.

It’s About Quality

Now, when we say “better picture,” we don’t mean “one that excludes the dog-ravaged couch.” What we really mean—as determined by The Wall Street Journal—is better quality pictures, framed to be aesthetically pleasing. The Journal presents research that says that photos taken with SLR (single-lens-reflex) cameras lead to an inflated sale price by $934 to $116,076. The exception is homes that are priced below $300,000. Properties at the lower end of the market benefit more from price cuts than photography.

Get The Right Shots

“Gee, LearnVest,” you say. “That sounds just super, but you lost me at SLR.” As a seller, you need not concern yourself with the type of camera you’re holding—instead, ask your broker to bring along a professional photographer. Don’t have a broker? Wrangle some of those artsy photographer friends—they owe you for years of gallery exhibitions. It may seem trivial, but remember that there’s an entire niche industry based on making homes appealing enough to sell. Between painting accent walls on reality shows and being advised by magazines to install new landscaping, getting decent pictures seems like the lesser evil.

Tell us in the comments: Do you find that pictures make a difference when browsing real estate listings?

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  • Juno

    What if you are a terrible photographer?

    • Sitch907

      Photography is a huge hobby right now — maybe a photographer friend could do you a favor or help out for a few bucks.

      • http://www.printmyrealestate.com ColoPhotoEstate

        A professional Photographer for Real Estate can vary widely, but in most cases you can get very good work done between $150 – $300 and get a Virtual tour also. Simply google Real Estate and the largest city that you are near and voila… choices, choices, choices.rnrnIt’s very important to note that there is a HUGE difference between a “Portrait” and “Architectural” Photographer. In my experience, most of the Portrait Photographers do not know how to shoot Real Estate on a professional level, and vice versa.rnrnCheck their work, and make sure the lighting looks good, and the vertical walls are straight as well. These two tips are 2 of the biggest factors that I use when hiring a new photographer to my team.rnrnThis was a fantastic Blog… and Thank You!

  • Guest

    Pictures absolutely make a difference but remember that pictures are not always accurate. Just like when you shoot a picture and you gussy it up others could do the same to you. Make sure that thse are real.

  • Talbot

    I am ALWAYS swayed by the pictures in real estate listings. Great pictures help me to envision myself living there!