Do you like to see lots of pictures of a new listing?
Do you think it's an important part of marketing that property? Do the pictures draw you in and make you curious? What do the buyers think when they are searching for homes for sale?
Digital cameras are everywhere these days. The quality of a low cost digital camera has improved greatly over the past few years. Cell phones and PDA's are able to take snapshots and even mini movies. If there's not a good retail outlet near you, there's always the internet where you can find any number of easy to use and well priced options. With all the technology available to agents, is there any reason why a new MLS offering should be without pictures?
If a picture tells a thousand words, what are we missing when there aren't even just a couple of simple pictures?
- curb appeal
- condition of house
- yard and landscaping
- views
- neighbor homes
- architecture and style
Have you ever been in a hurry to get your new listing out on the market, and put it out there without any photos The first day is very important, as you never get a second chance to make a first impression. An agent should take the time to get 2 or 3 good photos or more of all listings before entering them into the MLS system.
It could make the difference between a quick sale or no sale. 
How many are you allowed to have?
YOU CAN'T HAVE TOO MANY PICTURES.
As of yesterday, we are allowed 12 MLS photos. Raised from 10.
And, the first day, "Hot Sheets" and "Today's Activity" pages of the MLS need to show photos as soon as the listing is input.
When I have someone looking for a specific style of home, and I come across a listing without photos, it is on to the next one. Period.
It takes less than 5 minutes to upload 10-12 photos, and there is no excuse for not having them up immediately. If an agent can't do photos, they need to get a photographer in immediately upon taking the listing to have photos ready for an assistant to upload when the listing goes live.
Pictures are imporatant for sure and the public is now expecting them.
The picture worth 1000words is sooo acurate. I find it hard to believe so many agents still take lousy pictures and sometimes just the front. That is like looking at the cover of a book on Houses in Maui and never looking inside. It really only takes a few minutes to think about the shot you shoot. How about the kitchen with all the magnets on the fridge, towels hung on the stove and counter cluttered with stuff. As an agent it is OK to move everything out of site for the picture. It is a good idea to show your seller the difference and get them to clean up their act. Same in the bathrooms. Its like looking at yourself in the mirror and all looks good. then someone takes your picture and you go WOW I need to loose some weight, cut my hair, etc. One of the biggest mistakes in not paying attention when uploading to MLS make sure the first picture is what you really want; NOT the bathroom. Draw the viewer in with some thought as how they might preceive the house. More pictures is best. You can come back and take more or better pictures to improve your listings view. I tell my sellers that this market is not for sissies. You need to dress your house for the Miss America Pageant. Its not the prom anymore. I have just discovered Visual Tour Studio. WOW. It is easy (I'm not a techy by any means) and supper value. I even did one of my Cape Coral community. It was really easy. Go take pictures.
Buyers ELIMINATE properties based on the presentation they see online. That means good QUALITY photographs, LOTS of photographs, video tours, virtual tours..... If you're not putting it all out there in the best way possible, you're a quick click away from your competitor. This is a concept many realtors just don't seem to want to understand.
If you don't believe me, ask your customers how they search for properties!
They are extremely important...I will take and retake as many as necessary.
Thanks everyone for your insightful comments.
Mike and Kay - I can't believe you are only allowed so few pictures.... what are they thinking?
Margaret - what do you mean "no charge"..... does that mean they charge you for some other items you input? If I can't get 30 pictures on the house and yard, I will also include some of the nearby selling points, like the beach or shops. If a buyer is coming from out of town, they don't know these things, so it's nice to fill them in.
Fred and Mike - you're right, just one click away, NEXT
So you don't think a picture like this will work?
: )
Hi Simon, - I agree, pictures are very important. We are able to input up to 30.
sorry about the crappy picture hogging your space!
Pictures are SO important. I hate it when an agent has 4 pictures and they are all of the same thing, usually of the front with the photographer moving 5 feet to either side.
By the way, why the dog picture for the real estate agent photo???
I think it is having the right balance of photos-
not too many where it would make the buyers feel they have seen enough without viewing it and not having any interior photos makes the buyers wonder what is wrong with them home. I think it is the right balance of photos.
It frustrates me when listing don't have any pictures. Especially with the price of gas these days!
I think it's part of your job as a listing agent to provide decent pictures.
Maureen - thanks for stopping by and commenting - you're right, lousy pictures aren't worth putting up.
Brenda - You hit the nail on the head - with no pictures we CANNOT do our job properly.
I do still believe that my job as a listing agent is to get the property shown and sold. I do tell the buyers and the agents who call that the reason I did not put the pic in the MLS is that there is so much "clutter"...or that there is so much work to do etc. But, we have become so dependent on pictures that we may be leading the buyer to only look superficially. What is a better buy? The best house in a great neighborhood or the worse house in a great neighborhood. ..... What good is a great buy if we do not get the people in to see it. This is a "do not judge a book by its cover" moment. I may eliminate some lookers by not having the picture in, but I am getting the buyers who can see beyond the usual. Dumps have buyers, too. And the ones who bought the dumps at reasonable prices these last few years, and did not refi are looking pretty good right now. My not putting pictures in is a marketing decision for some properties.
That being defended, I will say that it upsets me that the agents go in and take a pic and put it up NO MATTER HOW GROSS. I do not like junk on the refrig...the counter top, .....the bedroom floor.....etc, etc. etc. Something is not better than nothing if the something shows the property in a bad light. If you are going to be adament about pics in the MLS or wherever at least have the seller clean up the house.
I am on the MLS committee for our board. This came up in the discussion to require pictures. I was against it because it is the listing agents decision how best to market his or her listings. And I still say it is. If you want to use the lack of a picture to get the listing when it expires....do so. My sellers know why I have no picture. Most times, the agent is making no decision, just being lazy.
Lazy will not get the property sold. Ruth
Not showing a number of photographs is misrepresentation and trickery - I would absolutely fire an agent if this is how they 'chose' to market my home, whether it was a dump or not. It's no different than putting out an advertisement on a house without a price - it's TRICKERY. For me, it screams "this is a dump - that's why I'm hiding it from you!". CLICK!
Today, marketing real estate online is about transparency - people want to see everything - warts and all - BEFORE they waste their valuable time (and yours!)
If a seller hires a professional and then chooses NOT to follow their suggestions on cleanup, etc. that's now the problem of the SELLER.
But, it's also a free market! If I was hiring an agent to list/ market my house, and I was looking at their listings and saw only a few photos (and especially NO photo),I would choose ANOTHER agent. And if my agent did not put photos on my listing ..... lots of them.. and good ones... I WOULD FIRE THEM for not doing their job.
There's no excuse or rationale for lack of photos considering buyers are ELIMINATING properties solely based on what they see online. With gas prices approaching $4 a gallon and a record number of properties out there - they're NOT going to waste their time on a lark.. if you don't believe that statement, you will most likely be holding down a second job at the mall sooner rather than later.... It's 2007. Buyers are smarter and have access to more information than ever.
FRED LIGHT, you said this so well. If it costs $4 per gallon of gas to go see something that could be portrayed by photo, it is truly trickery. I can hear some agent bragging about how nice this property is and hoping to use sales techniques, I assume, to sell it to me once I got there. Or perhaps bait and switch methods?
Mister Light. Did you read my last post at all? There are many ways to get noticed in the real estate world and one way is to be different than everything else out there. I do not think that the pictures of the real estate equate to the real thing. I would like people to see the real thing. I do not make my money taking pictures or posting them on the internet. I make my living selling property. And, I have done it very well for years. And, I knew I was going to be lambasted when I posted my response. Bandwagons, conventional thinking and instant agreement without thought being what it is in the real estate community.
I am not lazy. Am very knowledgeable and offer my sellers the right to fire me any time and rarely am (if I am it is usually mutual---I can only think of twice in 24 years). Noting what you do, I am not surprised that you have never thought of the possiblity of not including a picture.
Not putting in a picture is neither illegal nor unethical. It is a marketing decision the listing agent can make. I do have a problem if it is just laziness....but, the listing agent and the seller may decide to market in any way they wish. I am not "tricking" anyone. They can call and I will tell them why there is not picture. And, I will show them the house if they are not working with another agent. Ruth
PS....Most of my listings get the max pictures and the virtual tours....even on the lower priced listings. Some just need a way to get noticed above what they are capable of producing.
Ruth- thanks for sticking to your guns. Speaking also as a member of our MLS committee... we all voted that pictures are mandatory. We considered your points and others, and agreed that at least 1 picture should be included even if it is only of the mailbox, or the site plan, or the tax map, or the view, the driveway or the landscaping.... at least ONE picture (taken of the property or from the property) to indicate something to help a buyer's agent to do their job. You have to also consider the buyer's agent point of view too. We're all in this together. I'm glad you explained your reasons for not using pictures on occasion, and I would have to agree that if that's what the seller wants, you'd better get it in writing. : )
Fred - thanks for your input
Barbara - Glad you stopped by and commented.
Bob - I have also let the next agent use my pictures - whatever it takes.