The real estate industry is constantly changing. While curb appeal is crucial to marketing and selling a home, it’s not the only factor to consider. After all, most homebuyers search for homes online first.
As such, real estate agents need to innovate their techniques and practices to appeal to this new generation of buyers. Professional real estate photography is essential to this process and is a prime marketing tool.
Let’s explore why real estate photography is important and how you can use it to sell more homes.
Why Is Real Estate Photography Important?
Image-based advertising is a long-standing marketing strategy. However, in the age of social media and the internet, this type of advertising changed quite a bit. Long gone are the days of hand-drawn real estate listings.
High-quality photographs, videos, and virtual tours are now the standard. As a result, many buyers neglect listings that lack these types of media. Consequently, real estate photography is essential to selling a home.
Before you list another home on your website or preferred real estate app, check the property images. If they’re not high-quality, well-lit, and professional-looking, you may struggle to attract buyers.
Fortunately, you don’t need to be a professional real estate photographer to create exceptional images. But if you’ve never photographed a home before, or your pictures are lackluster, you may want to read up on achieving professional listing status.
How to Create Professional Real Estate Pictures
Using your smartphone to snap real estate pictures of a for-sale property may not be enough to entice homebuyers. Professional real estate photography often incorporates multiple types of media and equipment.
For example, many listed homes feature aerial drone images, 3D virtual tours, and a few dozen high-definition photographs. To ensure your for-sale property is competitive, you’ll need to match this media.
To do this, you can:
Use drones for aerial photography and video
Create a 3D tour
Host a virtual open house
Hire a professional real estate photographer
If you’ve never tried any of these marketing techniques, you may feel a little overwhelmed or uncertain. So let’s take a brief moment to discuss how these techniques work and what you’ll need to get the job done.
Use a Drone
Drones are very similar to RC planes and helicopters. The primary difference between them is operation. RC vehicles require constant observation and attendance.
But drones can fly without a remote control. Many professional-quality drones follow a preset flight route, mitigating the need for a pilot, and as such, using a drone to photograph a property is relatively simple.
Still, if you don’t currently own a drone that’s capable of taking photographs, you may struggle to create high-quality real estate aerial photography. Depending on your property, aerial photography may be just as vital as interior shots.
When buyers search for a home, they consider the property itself and the surrounding environment. Without real estate drone photography, you may struggle to find buyers.
Fortunately, there are several models of drones capable of taking professional aerial photographs. The most affordable option is hiring an experienced real estate photographer who specializes in aerial shots.
Create a Virtual Walkthrough
Still, real estate images, especially high-definition ones, are essential to selling a home. You could increase your for-sale property’s competitiveness even more by adding a virtual walkthrough.
When potential homebuyers find your listing, they can use a virtual walkthrough application to explore the home. Not only does this help buyers decide whether to buy, but it generates trust.
Reputable agents do their best to display property in its best and most natural light. Homebuyers recognize this and feel more confident investing in a property that has an online virtual walkthrough.
Host a Digital Open House
Many buyers are wary of attending in-person open house events. Others may be too far away to attend. But when you host a digital open house, you’re inviting every interested buyer to walk through your property.
To host a virtual open house, you’ll need to invest in interior panoramas, walkthroughs, and aerial images.
It’s also a great idea to create Matterport 3D scans. These help online buyers explore your for-sale property with ease.
Choosing a High-Quality Real Estate Photographer
Not every real estate agent feels comfortable about or confident in taking property photographs. There are professional real estate photographers that capture stunning images of your for-sale property.
But choosing the right one can be tricky. After all, more people are becoming real estate photographers due to the high demand for them. So instead of having one or two local options, you might have several.
Still, you can expedite the hiring process by considering your photographer’s:
Experience
Professional photography portfolio and style
Pricing and schedule
Equipment and techniques
The best real estate photographers typically have several years of experience, a comprehensive portfolio, and competitively priced services. If your chosen photographer is top-rated, however, you may struggle to schedule a session. This is why you should consider a real estate photography company versus a singular photographer. A vendor has several professional photographers available in the same area, which means you have plenty of options whenever you’re ready.
Additionally, it’s crucial to consider your real estate photographer’s equipment and techniques. Professionals should own a DSLR camera, a wide-angle lens, and other tools to help them get the best shot of your listing.
What Is the Best Real Estate Marketing Tool?
There are dozens of real estate marketing tools and techniques. Choosing the best one is often challenging; however, agents can take advantage of Virtuance’s wide range of marketing tools, including HDReal®. This proprietary automated image processing system provides real estate agents with stunning listing images.
After a Virtuance listing shoot, the HDReal system processes the images with advanced algorithms to give you the highest chance of attracting homebuyers.
Consequently, HDReal may be one of the best real estate marketing tools available. Listings featuring HDReal images receive 2X more clicks than listings featuring other pro images.
Find a Real Estate Photographer Near Me
Professional real estate photography significantly improves your selling power. Listed homes without high-quality photos or virtual walkthroughs may be undesirable or even seem suspicious to potential buyers.
Investing in drone photography, digital tours, and high-definition photographs is an excellent way to improve your for-sale property’s marketing. After all, image-based advertising is both popular and effective.
Are you ready to increase your real estate marketing prowess? If so, be sure to schedule your shoot today!
