Thursday, June 19, 2008

Why Use a Professional Real Estate Photographer?

In today's information age, more and more buyers are searching for their next purchase online. The days of people driving around or attending open homes are all but finished. The latest statistics report that 80% to 90% of home buyers begin their real estate search online before ever calling an agent. This means, that by the time the person walks into your office, there is a good chance that they have already chosen the homes they are interested in.

With a large supply of homes currently for sale, a buyer will spend countless hours going through hundreds of online listings searching for homes that catch their attention. This ease of access to information is both a blessing and a curse to the real estate professional. While no one would make the argument that the internet has hampered real estate marketing, it has become increasingly difficult for agents to get their properties noticed.

When a user is browsing listings online, what is the marketing ingredient that will draw them to your listing above all others? Pictures! Buyers love pictures, the more the better. However, while a great picture will set your listing apart from the others, a bad picture will turn away potential buyers.

Sellers are also becoming increasingly demanding as to how their properties are marketed. When listing agents are competing for a home, why not offer the seller more than the standard pictures taken by most agents? Taking the time to hire a professional photographer will make you stand out from the competition. I guarantee that your seller will appreciate your efforts to do more to sell their home.

While most people think that taking pictures of real estate is very easy, it actually requires more equipment, more skill, and more time than other forms of photography. Today's point and shoot digital cameras, while good, will just not do the job of real estate photography.

As an agent, why waste your valuable time traveling to take images of your properties only to have those images do the opposite of what you would hope to accomplish? Pictures are the most important ingredient to any successful real estate marketing campaign, so why not ensure that you are getting the best? To really put your best foot forward, hire a professional and get the images you need today.

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