How Professional Real Estate Photography will sell your property faster

Real estate photography is one of the most important factors to sell the houses. Very often, real estate agents ask professional photographers to take photos.

But what is the difference between a picture taken by a professional photographer, and one taken by an amateur on an iPhone? After all, both have clear camera quality. Why should you spend more on hiring a professional photographer when you could save costs by taking them yourself or letting your estate agent do it?

Well, the answer is quite simple: A great first (and lasting) impression might be your only chance to secure your potential buyers' interest in your property, and in consequence close a sale.

When you're scrolling through your timeline and you stop. Usually, it is because you spot a high-quality image with a concept that appeals to you on an emotional level. And not just any photo would do but one that was specifically crafted to appeal to what you're looking for. That's the work of a professional.

Now, this leads to the question: Why is real estate photography so important?

WHY IS REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY SO IMPORTANT?

In 2017, a survey by the National Association of Realtors stated that:

• Of the recent homebuyers, 42 percent looked at properties for sale online as the first step that they took in the home buying process, while 17 percent of buyers first contacted a real estate agent. In other words, when a person decides to start hunting for a home, the first stop for them is most likely to look at photos on the Internet.
• 88 percent agreed strongly that online websites served as the most useful information source for them.
• Among the buyers who used the internet during their search for homes, 89 percent found photos essential. That is 5% more than the 84 percent who found detailed information about property useful.

The Wall Street Journal also reports that:

• The ratio of time most homebuyers spend viewing photos as opposed to viewing the listing description on properties for sale is 60:20. That is 60% of their time is spent looking at listing photos, and only 20% each on the listing description and agent description. What this means for you is that you should be spending more time on the photos you list your properties with than on the description. People are more likely to just skim through detailed descriptions anyway. They spend the most time looking at photos instead.

NAR (National Association of Realtors) also reports that 89% of all generations find photos useful and 82% depend on virtual tours. This already places all the listings that may have at the very least an average photo head and shoulders above those that have none at all.

All these statistics prove how heavily the average homebuyer relies on photos to inform their choice of a property. If you intend to snag their attention and make a lasting impression on them, you cannot ignore the place of photos, good photos. Photos are the number one way to grab your customers' attention.

Another importance of professional real estate photography is that it makes a huge difference in the selling price of your property.

Have you ever paid attention to how online stores are set up? The one thing that distinguishes the top dogs is their use of professional photography for every product. Everything, no matter how small or cheap, is given the best possible picture on their websites.

This gives their brand an image of authenticity and excellence. You want to buy from them because subconsciously, you trust them. This is a powerful tool for marketing any product.

Consumers are more likely to click on images that look professional, and the more clicks you get the more the number of inquiries.

Studies in the real estate market prove it to be the case such that homes with high-quality photos garner a higher asking price on the market, as a norm.

And real estate agents who outsource photography of the properties they list are known to earn twice as much commission as those who do not.

A good bargain all around.

Generally speaking, people would pay more for your product based on how they perceive your brand. And nothing projects your image more than the quality of your product photography. So it logically follows that properties with sharper, clearer, and professional pictures will inspire homebuyers' trust and consequently their willingness to pay higher prices.

Most importantly, professional photography enables you to close deals faster. It reduces the time your property spends on the listing. In this day and age of technology, your potential customers are scrolling through thousands of property listings looking for the right home for them. What can you do to stop them in their tracks, to catch their attention long enough to click on your offer and convince them that yours is the perfect home for their particular needs? High-quality photos are the key.

TIPS FOR REAL ESTATE SHOOTING

Photos that get inquiries are images that tell a story powerfully.

Did you know that just having a good camera is not enough to create the quality of photos that will compete favorably in the marketplace? There is more to creating the perfect image than just the click of a shutter. For instance;

• You must consider the perfect lighting and color balance that will bring out the ambiance you are trying to create. It is not enough to just take a picture. Your photos must appeal to not just the mind of your customers, it must evoke an emotional attachment in them. This leads to the next point.
• Professional photographers know that clutter does not present the picture of a perfect home that potential buyers have in their heads. They know how to declutter the rooms and arrange furniture in such a way that the buyer can already picture themselves living their best life in them.

Declutter! Declutter! Declutter! This cannot be overemphasized. The home must be free of all clutter, it must shine!

• Also, research shows that staged homes garner more views and because of that can sell faster than un-staged homes on listings. So, create an aesthetic with the furniture you have. Make it look like something your customers can just move into and begin to live in.
• Another aspect to take into consideration is the angles to shoot from that highlight the most flattering features of a home.

There is a question of how many shots of which rooms would be best when taking photos. The standard format is to make use of wide-angle shots. In total you should have:

・2 wide-angle shots of each bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room.

・1 photo of the bathroom, unless it’s incredibly beautiful or spacious. Then all these        features must be properly highlighted.

・1-3 photos of the backyard unless it has some unique features.

・Also, 1-2 shots of the front of the home to show off the ‘curb appeal’.

・1 shot of each feature such as laundry room, garage, and pantry.

This is where RICOH360 Tours comes in. We help bring all these elements of professional photography together to create a virtual tour experience that would cause your potential customers to forget all the other homes they have viewed.

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH RICOH360 Tours

With RICOH360 tours, you have the benefit of showing a real estate property with 360-degree coverage.

Knowing how important Virtual Tours have become to the real estate community, we got to work looking for a simpler way to help our customers create them. RICOH360 Tours is the result. We are a purpose-built solution that covers the entire virtual tour process from creation to delivery and share.

With its auto image cropping feature you can automatically optimize 2D images from 360° images, which saves effort to take pictures again with a digital camera. And Ricoh’s unique AI image enhancement technology automatically improves the quality of the 360 images, so you can create a high-quality virtual tour with no hassle. Also, coupled with our AI virtual staging technology we help our customers easily create professional 360 virtual tours to help them close more deals faster.

HOW DOES THE AI VIRTUAL STAGING WORK?

AI Virtual Staging is a process where Virtual furniture is automatically arranged by AI. This saves time and the extra hassle of arranging and rearranging physical furniture.b

We have made our AI Virtual Staging affordable, easier, and more accessible to you. If you have a RICOH360 Tours account, you can use AI Virtual Staging at no additional cost.

All you need to do is follow these 3 steps.

Step 1: Upload a 360° image and press the "select" button.

Step 2: Wait for the AI to create bomb settings with your image. It takes between 10-60 minutes for your virtually staged images to be ready. You get four different staging formats to choose from.7

Step 3: Choose your favorite virtually staged images and import them. And you're ready to create an irresistible listing for your property.

Simple and time-saving!

Overview

The entire process of listing properties in real estate hinges on the quality of photos you make available to your potential home buyers on the internet. And the best photos are those that tell a story that resonates with your potential customer's mental image of a dream property. RICOH360 Tours helps you create virtual tours that accomplish that with ease and less cost.

An effective virtual tour requires skill, excellent planning, and experience, these are the elements we have incorporated in our virtual tours.

Allow us to help you attract and connect your customers to their dream homes.