Over the last few years, the way that estate agents market their homes has changed – and these changes have accelerated over the last 18 months since the start of the pandemic.
Last year the property market effectively shut down, with only ongoing transactions forging ahead. Prospective buyers were unable to visit estate agent offices and could only view existing properties for sale online via property portals or estate agents’ websites.
The property market has now been open for over a year, but there were still restrictions in place for much of this time. Whilst estate agents have been open and operational since July last year, many people could only view properties online and only contacting an estate agent once they have taken an online tour and scrutinised the floor plan and imagery and are sure that they may want to make an offer. Prospective viewings for those simply considering a move, have all but stopped.
When looking at a potential home or investment, prospective buyers ask themselves whether they can see themselves or tenants living there. They aren’t just buying a home they are buying into a lifestyle, an area, a way of life. That’s why it’s important to have high quality photography, accurate floor plans, and that agents have good area information such as school catchments, transport links and amenities.
Good quality photographs have always been a great selling tool, but with buyers wanting to avoid contact with others as much as possible – even now – they have never been more important.
Recent research from software provider Rex suggests that automatically changing the main marketing photograph an online property listing can attract up to 40% more traffic and that changing marketing imagery helps a listing to appear fresh and attract different types of buyers.
This analysis is backed up by Rightmove research earlier this year which suggested that listings with high quality photography can attract up to 93% more leads. What’s more, a FocalAgent study found that properties marketed with professional photographs sell 24 days quicker on average and achieve a 2% higher asking price.
That’s why we suggest only using an agent that takes exceptional photographs and present your property in the best possible light. Take a look at our listings and contact us for a no obligation property appraisal.