More MLS Musings!

MLS Musings!

3 minute read

January 27, 2017

The 2017 Toronto real estate market is just crazy, folks.

I need a breather.  You need a breather.

It’s like when you go home after a long day of work and decide to watch an episode of Black Mirror.  Then after feeling even more down, you ask yourself, “Why am I watching this?”  Then you go to Netflix and find 22 Jump Street.

Well, enough Black Mirror.  Bring on the antics of Jonah Hill…

LaughEmoji (2)

Maybe I’m out of touch.

Seriously.  It’s possible.

It may be that I really don’t understand “marketing” in 2017, and perhaps taking photos of the condo, shown in the best light possible, is no longer “in.”

Take the following listing, for example.

This was a really, really weird collection of photos all around.

Take a look at the photo array:

LesliePhotos01

Which do you find to be the strangest photo?

I know, I know – that’s like asking “Which kid do you love the most?”

But note that the very first photo, which is the feature photo shown on the MLS listing, is of a child’s bedroom, rather than the outside of the building.

But then photo #3 is this:

LesliePhotos02

What is that?

I know – it’s “Minion.”

But why the need for a closeup photo of a stuffed doll, rather than, say, the living room, bathroom, etc?

Then what the hell is this:

LesliePhotos03

That’s a chair!

Why take a photo of a chair?

Is that the “Den?”

Then how about this:

LesliePhotos04

That’s a photo of the pool table in the amenity area.

Great.

I love showing photos of the amenities.

But couldn’t they have asked that little girl to move for two seconds?

Now she’ll be in the MLS archives forever.

And last but not least, what listing isn’t complete without a photo of…….the mailroom?

LesliePhotos05

 

Really weird stuff.

How about this one:

PhotosSideways8

It looks to me like only the second photo, which is of the building, and probably taken from the MLS archives, is right-side-up.

Actually, wait, photo #4 might be too, but I can’t tell what the hell that is, since it’s a portrait photo jammed in a landscape spot.

How about this one:

Sideways

The second photo is on an angle.

How could ANYBODY upload this photo?

The rest of the photos suck, don’t get me wrong.

But that one just doesn’t make any sense.

More sideways photos, nothing new here.

2/6 are right-side-up, 4/6 are sideways.

But what the hell is that photo there where I’ve put the red question mark?

SidewaysFloor

If you turned your head, you already know.

It’s a shower:

SidewaysShower2

A terrible, glarry, crooked photo of a shower, but still – now we know!

Just awful work.

The seller should fire their agent.

Oh…..wait…

SidewaysShower3

Here’s a photo that looks like it was taken from a bathroom spy-cam:

Bathroom

If you buy this place, make sure you check for hidden cameras…

What’s with this new trend of “showing that things work?”

Like showing that the faucet works:

FaucetRunning

So unnecessary.

Is that “artsy?”  I just don’t know

Or what about showing that your fridge and dishwasher are real, and not just cardboard cut-outs:

Appliances

Great!  Now I can put food in my fridge like I had hoped!

Or this other new trend of showing the door to the condo?

Like this one, that leaves us wondering, “Which unit is for sale?  602 or 603?”

602-603

Or what about this really creepy, haunted condo:

C3482103

Sorry, but that’s “The Ring” type creepy.

And last but not least, if you want really creepy, how about a photo taken from the perspective of somebody peeking into the bathroom when they found the door closed:

W3484574_2

Like I said – maybe I’m out of touch.

I have five listings coming out this month, and all of them will show photos of the property itself.

But maybe I should be taking photos of inanimate objects around the condo instead?

Written By David Fleming

David Fleming is the author of Toronto Realty Blog, founded in 2007. He combined his passion for writing and real estate to create a space for honest information and two-way communication in a complex and dynamic market. David is a licensed Broker and the Broker of Record for Bosley – Toronto Realty Group

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10 Comments

  1. Tevya Heller

    at 7:31 am

    I LOVE BLACK MIRROR,,,,,it leaves me gutted

  2. Dan Dickinson

    at 8:04 am

    *Runs out to buy a minion doll.*

  3. Ed

    at 8:18 am

    I get the fridge/freezer open photo. They are built in and would otherwise be camouflaged.

    1. Kyle

      at 10:30 am

      Unfortunately, by opening the fridge door they also expose what a horrible design it is. It looks like you can’t open the fridge door all the way without hitting that step to the balcony. “Don’t open the fridge door all the way then”, some might say. But then you can’t actually open any of the drawers in the fridge and freezer without the fridge door all the way open.

    2. John

      at 10:38 am

      Yes, but what condo doesn’t have a fridge and a dishwasher? If you’re interested in the condo you’re not going to *not* come because you haven’t seen any evidence of a fridge or dishwasher in the listing.

  4. A Grant

    at 8:32 am

    I get showing the door to the condo, so long as the following series of photos present themselves from the perspective of a potential buyer walking through the door into the condo (i.e. picture of the entrance, kitchen, living/dining, outdoor view, bath, and bedroom). If the condo door is followed by a picture of the bedroom – yeah, fail.

  5. Marina

    at 9:32 am

    Any bathroom photo where the toilet lid is up is a fail for me. Just… Like, no.
    Any bedroom photo where the bed is not made.
    Any description with stupid grammar or wording errors – I once saw that “your responsible” for something or other. After I threw up in my mouth a little bit, I had to stop reading.
    Once I saw photos of the recycling and garbage bins next to the house.

    The worst part is, the seller is complicit. If I was selling my house and I saw a listing with these photos, I’d be raising hell. Who are these people who think this is the way to sell a house? I get the agents – they are lazy and want a quick buck. It’s awful, but at least it makes sense. But the sellers?

  6. Max

    at 12:20 pm

    My biggest pet peeve in real estate photos is an open toilet bowl. They come with a lid for a reason.

  7. Geoff

    at 3:17 pm

    No love for the ring photo? It’s kind of awesome on some level.

  8. crazyegg

    at 3:36 pm

    Hi All,

    I actually get the bathroom tile and the fridge door open photos.

    Some people get turned on by cleanliness / newness. I now a few clients like that.

    The former shows that the grout lines are clean so that can also be an indicator that the rest of the unit is probably immaculate as well.

    Ditto for the fridge.

    Regards,
    ed…

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