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Deliver Images by Internet and Watch Your Home Sell Faster - 2008-08-10
DELIVER IMAGES BY INTERNET AND WATCH YOUR HOME SELL FASTER

The biggest change I have seen in the nearly thirty years that I have held a Georgia real estate license is the introduction of the Internet. The ability of this medium to share and transmit information is so profound as to shake the real estate industry to its very core.

When I first became an agent, all real estate "for sale" information was contained in secret "listing books." It was clearly printed across the back cover that these books were "not for public distribution."

Agents were the gatekeepers of the secret information, and if you wanted to buy a house, you pretty much had to work with a real estate agent. If all worked well, the agent would listen to your needs and wants, then select a variety of available homes from the secret list, then allow you to view those homes on Sunday afternoon.

Today, things have changed.

While there is apparently still a struggle going on in the industry between the gatekeeper mentality and the "open info" theory, the existence of sites such as realtor.com and georgiamls.com prove that listing information is no longer considered "proprietary," even if the street address still is.

Buyers have indicated that they demand the opportunity to peruse available listings on their own schedule in their own privacy, and typically do so for some time prior to contacting any agent.

And it turns out that there is one feature of any "for sale" listing that buyers really like. It's all about the pictures. Pictures of the inside, pictures of the outside, and pictures of all the rooms. And the more pictures, the better.

A recent study by website software provider Point2.com indicates that photos have a higher impact on driving real estate transactions than perhaps anyone realized. The results strongly suggest that adding more photos generates better response to real estate listings.

The study examined three areas of consumer interest: views of the listing, specific interest generated by the listing, and number of unique leads obtained by listing agents as a result of the website listing.

As one might expect, if the listing featured no photo, it generated little consumer interest and little activity.

I am always amazed when I see listings in the Atlanta MLS services that say "no photo," but there are plenty of them.

Listings that featured a single photo did "significantly better." That's no surprise.

But here's the kicker: when they compared listings with one photo to those with 21 or more photos, they found that consumers were three times as likely to delve deeper into the listing for a detailed view, and as a result, generated twice the amount of interest and twice the number of leads.

Statistics from the National Association of Realtors show that a large percentage of home shoppers begin their search for a new home online, and that they conduct research on neighborhoods and individual homes that are for sale.

Now we learn that a listing with only one photo is handicapped from the beginning, and that a listing featuring 21 or more is much more likely to get attention from prospective buyers.

In addition, the study revealed that there was a direct and measurable relationship between the number of photos available and the consumer's positive reaction to that listing, both in views and actual leads that were generated as a result.

Interestingly, views, interest and leads scored a twenty percent jump as the number of photos increased from 15 to 16. The maximal number of photos to make available to prospects appeared to be 31, with interest and views declining thereafter. The study examined listings with a maximum of 36 photos.

The software at georgiamls.com appears to limit listing agents to a maximum of 16 photos, but the vast majority of listings have far fewer. And it looks like Realtor.com will allow agents to post up to 25 photos, and even allows viewers to sort listings based on number of photos available.

Even a "for sale by owner" can get in on the act if they want. Websites like zillow.com will allow owners to post their homes for sale at no charge, and allow multiple photos to be posted for free.

Another idea that some sellers use is to set up a new website using the street address, such as 123oakstreet.com. This can be done inexpensively and easily, and visitors can be automatically redirected to a free photo gallery site such as Google's picasa web albums.

Sites like these will hold an almost unlimited number of images and are available to sell your house around the clock. In addition, they offer "slide show" capability and also offer the viewer a one-click method of sharing the photos with others who might be interested, such as a family member.

If you have a home for sale, the message of this study is clear.

Prospective buyers in this market want to see images of your home before they want to visit in person. The more photos they find, the greater the interest they seem to exhibit in your home.

The internet can do a lot of things, but when it comes to selling homes, it does one thing remarkably well. It delivers pictures to prospects quickly and easily. And if you are not taking advantage of that medium, you are putting the marketing of your home at a disadvantage.

 
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