There are three components that are critical in successfully selling a piece of real estate – Location, Price and Marketing.

A real estate professional gives or should give more of their attention to the marketing component, as long as the home is priced competitive for the location of the home.  Marketing consists of syndication (sending listing details to third party websites for public view), local area realtor to realtor marketing via the Multiple Listing Service, open houses and other various print and online outlets.  We believe the most important aspect of marketing begins with great photography as every marketing outlet except for word of mouth marketing relies on photography.

Today, 94% of buyers start their home search online.  If the listing photography doesn’t sparkle or doesn’t show enough of the property for the buyer to make a decision to put the home into a favorite or possibility bucket, the buyer will advance to the next property that fits their criteria.  Sadly, this often results in a missed showing or buying opportunity, which is unfortunate for the homeowner who is selling their home.

So this sparks a series of questions.

Do you believe it is important for a real estate professional to hire a professional photographer to capture the images utilized in the marketing channels listed above?

Or is it acceptable for the listing agent to forego a professional photographer and take photos either with their own smartphone or their own personal camera?  

Is photography an important component of marketing a home?