Professional real estate photography is arguably the most important part of marketing your listing. And yes, we understand the implicit bias that comes with a photography company saying that! However, according to Zillow, 85% of people selling their home said having photos taken of the home was one of the most valuable services an agent could coordinate. This ranked even higher in importance than having an agent who spoke the same language.
You might think that if you have had professional photos taken, you’re all set. And for some homes, this may be true. In other cases, agents and sellers should consider supplementary technologies to help sell their homes more quickly. For example, more expansive homes, homes that are not staged, or homes whose real appeal isn’t apparent through photos alone might need a little more help.
Make your photos do more for your listing by pairing professional real estate photography with these 3 technologies:
Guided video tours are as easy as pulling out your phone and showing the house off to potential buyers. Video tours began soaring in popularity due to the coronavirus when open houses were barred. But even as the pandemic nears a close, many buyers prefer the safety, convenience, and low commitment that guided, virtual video tours offer. Guided video tours can simply be a Facetime call as an agent walks through the house, answering any questions the buyers have as they go. They’re a great opportunity for agents to show off the home to many interested parties with relatively little work.
2. Virtual Staging
Technology has come a long way in recent years when it comes to real estate marketing, and a large part of that progress has been in the rendering world. Whether you have a completely unstaged home or existing furniture that isn’t contributing to the “sellability” of the home, Virtual Staging and Virtual Renovation can help. The first simply add in furniture and decor to empty rooms. The second actually removes existing furniture before adding new furniture. Virtual Renovation also works for visualizing home renos before picking up a single tool; rooms can be reimagined with different flooring, lighting, and paint in addition to the normal furniture and decorations.
Check out our recent post for several examples of our Virtual Staging and the process behind creating them.
3. Disclosures.io (HomeLight Listing Management) for signing
We should mention that this isn’t an advertisement for Disclosures.io (now called HomeLight Listing Management) and we’re not in any way affiliated with the company. We just see how often agents use the system and how smoothly it manages a large amount of paperwork needed when buying or selling a house. HomeLight Listing Management compiles offers in a convenient dashboard that agents can share with your seller. It’s also a great central location where agents can store all of their closing documents in one place and send them out for signatures.
The bottom line is that real estate photography is great, but pairing photos with other technologies available is even better. In this seller’s market, the question isn’t really “Will the house sell?” but, “At what cost and how quickly?” These supplemental technologies can help get more eyes on your listing and ultimately, facilitate a successful sale.
