Before I bore you with some useful statistics, let me introduce myself to those that don’t know me. My name is Tom Sparks, I own Sparks Media Group. A real estate media company based in Suisun City, CA. We currently employ over 20 photographers and provide coverage throughout California. Right now our coverage area is as far north as Tahoe down towards Santa Barbara. We have photographers in other states too, have a listing somewhere? i’m sure we can cover it!
In the past 3 years my team has photographed over 5,000 homes. I have hundreds of real estate agents ordering from me on a recurring basis. My Goal is to earn your business. I strongly believe in quality customer service and quality deliverables. While I am responsible for running a superb team of people, I still manage to answer most calls, emails, and text messages personally! My corny mantra is to treat people how I’d want my family members treated and so far that hasn’t let me down!
Ok let’s talk details! I promise this will be useful to you.
I’m sure you heard the term “Make a good first impression” or “First impressions are the most lasting”, it’s true!
- Did you know that listings with professional photos sell for more money? Not only that, but they sell quicker.
- Did you know that 92 percent of homebuyers (according to realtor.org) use the Internet as part of their home search? That means that listing photos are a critical factor — it will determine the selling price of a home, how quickly it sells and whether it sells at all. I’d venture to say that the single most important factor in selling a home is good photography.
This isn’t only about homes ranging above $1 million; this applies to all homes, weather they are priced at $185,000 or $14 Million. That’s right. Studies have found that good photography helps to sell a home faster and for more money. Keep in mind that with so much research performed online, a good photo can help to get a homebuyer through the door.
The first impression is essential. If homebuyers aren’t sold on the images, they see online, chances are they will move on. It can also affect their perception of a home prior to seeing it. A good photograph will have a positive emotion associated with the home.
I am currently in the process of looking for a home, and I don’t even look at houses that have sub par photos. Emotion is the No. 1 trigger of the affluent buyer, so use it to your advantage. A good photo can speak not a thousand words, but a million words.
Here’s a few reasons to hire a professional real estate media company.
1. More online views. According to a study done by Redfin, listings shot with professional photography receive 61% more online views than their competitor listings.
2. Better first impressions. For 95% of online shoppers, the first thing they look at is your listing’s front exterior photo. Furthermore, studies show that they will spend about twenty seconds looking at that front exterior photo, before moving on to the other photos or listing details. Make that first 20 seconds really count!
3. Higher selling price. Listing marketed with professional photography have a higher perceived value and sell for more money. That’s right, according to the Wall Street Journal, these listings gain anywhere from $934 to $116,076 at the closing table! Add those stats to your listing presentation when you’re competing with an agent who takes his or her own photos.
4. More likely to sell. That’s right, according to Redfin, homes with professional photos are more likely to sell than those with crappy iphone/android photos. The study showed an increase across all price ranges, varying from 5% to 17%.
5. Sell faster. Redfin’s study also showed that listings with professional photos sell faster. Time varied by price range, but in the $400,000 range, homes sold on average 3 weeks faster. That’s a pretty staggering stat!
6. Your image. You should care about your image(s)! That’s right, your home owners have hired a professional real estate agent to market their home. Don’t you think you should hire a professional photographer to take the listing photos?
7. Win more listings. Let’s face it, there is a lot of listing competition out there. Having a beautiful portfolio of previous listing photos just may help you win that listing. Especially when you combine it with the stats previously mentioned.
8. Social media content. Visual content is all the rage in social media these days, and having a library of beautiful professional photos in a huge asset. Use those photos on sites like Pinterest, Instagram, Google+ and Facebook to attract interest and gain referrals.
9. Save time. Great photography not only requires time at the photo shoot, it requires time for editing and uploading. Most realtors are at their best when listing, showing and selling properties. So why take time away from what you do best to shoot and edit photos? Instead, hire a professional photographer to do what he or she does best.
10. Higher quality results. Lets be brutally honest here. Owning a professional camera does not make you a photographer anymore than owning a set of watercolor paints makes you an artist. Professional photographers do this for a living. They practice often, and they know lighting, angles and composition. They know how to take an ordinary room and make it look extraordinary.
11. Trigger emotion. Beautiful photos trigger an emotional response. And emotion sells. In fact, for most buyers, emotion is about 80% of the buying decision. Buyers use logic to choose price ranges, locations, and home sizes. But from there, most consumers will rely on emotion to choose the homes they visit in person and ultimately purchase.
Ok, enough reasons…
Take a look at this video I put together
Here are just a few services we offer. FREE property websites with every purchase. FREE flyer templates with every purchase. FREE contact form, social media integration and website viewage statistics with every purchase.
We also offer aerial photos, videos, video walk throughs, agent introductions, voiceovers, 3D virtual tours, floorplans, headshots, and high quality professional images. Oh, we’re also Zillow Certified. Automatically boost your listing on Zillow by having us do a 360 tour or video walkthrough.
Ordering is easy! you can order online, or via (800)728-5009
I look forward to earning your business!
Tom Sparks
order@SparksMediaGroup.com
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