Photos Sell Homes!

This is from the Atlanta FMLS and it's a bit hard to believe!

MEDIA MATTERS: How Many Photos Are Enough?

This winter FMLS increased the number of photos available per listing to 12 for two reasons: to better serve our members by maximizing the appeal of their listings, and to keep up with the online expectations of today’s potential homebuyers. While 12 photos are available to all members for all listings, you might be surprised by the results of a recent photo count search through current FMLS listings.

Of the 65,663 active Residential and Condominium listings at press time:

  • 11,474 had only 1 photo
  • 24,832 had 8 – 11 photos
  • Only 9,058 had the maximum of 12 photos

Most surprising: of the 65,663 total listings, 5,023 had NO photos at all!

According to a recent NAR survey of buyers and sellers, 80% of new homeowners used the Internet during their search for a new home, and they rated photos as the most useful tool in their search. The NAR survey also cited that 24% of home buyers got their first glimpse of their new home from a photo on the internet (such as: an emailed FMLS listing link, an agent website, or REALTOR.com) up from just 2% in 1997.

In order for a listing to sell, it has to be seen; in order for a listing to be seen, either the buyer’s agent or the client must determine that it is worth the time to visit. Most potential homeowners rely on listing photos to decide whether the home will make their “must see” list. Consider this: when you come across a listing without a photo, what do you do? Most agents move on to the next listing; why should we expect consumers to do anything different?

So before you go out and develop a costly marketing plan, let’s start at square one, and be sure that you are first utilizing all the FREE listing components available through FMLS. Are you adding photos to your listing? Are you adding photos immediately, or are you waiting a few days to get “just the perfect photo”? If the property is under construction, instead of a photo are you adding an artist’s rendering, the architect’s sketch, or floor plan? If you always add photos, are you among the 86% of FMLS members who add less than the maximum of 12? Or are you one of the 14% who are maximizing your listing with all 12 photos?

Remember this: the more photos attached to your listing, the more time the average buyer will spend examining your listing. And the more time they spend on your listing…the less time they’ll spend on another. Common sense tells us that some savvy FMLS agent out there will post all 12 photos and win the attention of potential buyers…why shouldn’t you be that agent?

EVERY one of our listings has the maximum number of photos on both the FMLS and MLS. Every listing is also professionally photographed with a virtual tour of not less than 40 pictures! See everything we do by clicking on the various links in the margins.