When Selling a Home in San Antonio, Photos Matter!

A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Well, when it comes to real estate, a picture can actually be worth thousands of dollars.

Often your photos are the first (and sometimes only) impression on potential homebuyers, and first impressions mean a whole lot when selling your home.

According to research from the National Association of Realtors in 2011, more than 88% of the country uses the Internet to search for homes, and users ranked photos as the most important part of their search.

We can’t stress it enough: Photos Matter!

When selling you home work with your Realtor to make sure all your photos are visually appealing before putting them online.

Here are some basic home photography tips:

1. Turn on lights to brighten the room.
2. Take photos at dawn or twilight – when the light outside is similar to the light inside. This will avoid over exposure from the windows, which will make your home look dark and dingy.
3. Get a good angle to showcase as much space as possible.
4. Look at your photos and think of them in the way your prospective buyers will look at them – in a split second. If you don’t think your buyers will think a photo looks good, don’t use it.
5. De-clutter before taking photos. This will make your home cleaner and more visually appealing.
6. If a room is empty, stage it. This will give potential buyers an idea of what their own things will look like in the room.

The composition of your photos isn’t the only player in the game though. The number of photos you have can also play a big role.

Another study by RISMedia revealed a direct relationship between a listing’s number of photos and its number of days on market.

According to the study, on average, homes with only one photo stayed on the market for 70 days, but homes with 20 photos sold within 32 days.

More studies have also shown a correlation between photos and price.

When homes had only one photo, they sold for 91.2% of the original/asking price. On the other hand, homes with 6 or more photos sold for at least 95% of the original/asking price.

The best thing to do is hire a professional photographer to take your photos. You’ll be amazed at how reasonable their prices are – especially for the value.

If you want to increase your likelihood of success when selling your home, don’t leave this part to chance. Make sure you and/or your Realtor puts time into the photos that are going to create the first impression and make or lose you thousands of dollars.

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