After writing Friday’s blog post in which I outlined ways that sellers and agents can be cheap, it occurred to me that terrible photos is a blog post unto itself!
Contrary to popular belief, real estate does NOT just sell itself, and you might have to put some work into it!
I think it starts with the very basic: photos.
Here are some very choice photos…
On our MLS system, the user can upload as many as NINE photos of the property listed for sale.
On the other hand, the user can upload as few as ZERO…
I would estimate that probably 25% of all listings on the system have one photo which is usually of the exterior of the building if the property is a condo or the front of a house.
What can you tell from the front of the building?
What kind of tingly-feeling do you get after seeing nothing more than the outside of a house? No interior shots to speak of, whatsoever!
But take that a step further, and you’ll find the single greatest pet peeve I have in all of real estate:
“Photo Not Available”
Hey, here’s two things that don’t surprise me:
1) “Photo not available” is for a listing at CityPlace.
2) The listing agent is from Markham. Did I just say that? I think I just did…
Seriously, what are you paying your agent 5% for?
If your agent posts a photo of the outside of the building and ZERO interior pictures (because he didn’t want to trek down from Markham to actually inspect the condo that he’s selling!) that’s pretty bad. But if your agent can’t even log onto MLS and copy a stock photo of the outside of 11 Brunel Court – FIRE HIM!
Helloooo? “Marketing,” much? How do you sell a condo with no photos, let alone one that reads “Photo Not Available?”
The Blurry Photo
Oh, really, is this what the condo looks like?
Is it blurry, or am I drunk?
Am I drunk, or am I on drugs?
Am I on drugs, or is the whole world just a massive blur of people and things and feelings and thoughts and shapes and tastes and circles and space and suns and moons and radiance that feels like what something would feel like if it couldn’t be felt, but you felt it anyways…
Really – spend $150 and get a professional photographer to come take pictures of your $400,000 condo.
This photo looks like it was taken through an eighty-year-old’s cataracts…
The “Half-Room” Photo
This has been a long-time favourite among people that are in a rush, can’t operate a camera, can’t see very well, and have no imagination. Seriously – check out the photo above, pretend you’re a buyer for a moment, and tell me if this entices you to see this condo?
But even worse than the “Half-Room” photo is…
The “Quarter-Room” Photo
This needs no explanation, does it?
You can see about fourteen square feet of the gross floor area.
OR….maybe this room is actually only fourteen square feet!
Different Angles!
Remember the episode of The Simpsons where Milhouse is chosen to play “Fallout Boy?”
“We already DID the ‘jimminy-jilickers’ scene. We did it a hundred times, but we got it!”
“Correct! And now we have to get it from different angles!”
I love when there is apparently so little to photograph in a property that you get the same thing taken from different angles:
In the first photo, we see what the kitchen looks like when the light is off.
In the second and third photos, we see what the kitchen looks like if we move the camera one quarter-inch to the right.
The Floorplan
Don’t get me wrong – this can be very helpful…..when it’s photo nine of nine…
But when this is the only photo of the condo that is for lease or sale, it leaves something to be desired!
Once again, this can be blamed on laziness. The agent has paperwork and nothing else, and a floor plan saves them having to go and take photos of the unit itself; you know -actually do their job!
Okay, I’m getting carried away.
But you know what? I have MORE!
I think this will continue tomorrow….
Marz
at 8:22 am
Actually, I don’t mind the multiple angles. Though not if there is a limit of 9 photos. If they are in the the “View multimedia” option on MLS they can be very helpful.
I think we’ve all seen what terrible photos there are of real estate – maybe you should do an entry of what good photos look like?
FrankyB
at 9:44 am
It boggles my mind how few condo (and house, for that matter) listings show floor plans, and when they do, they are often mis-scaled, as is the case in your picture above. David, any thoughts on the issue? Seems to me they play an enormous role in figuring out the suitability of a unit for a purchaser and renter. Are they that hard to get your hands on?
I used to live in New York City, where they were standard fare for probably 90%+ of sales and I’d venture to say at least half of rentals.
Dr. P. T. Tzurkov
at 2:38 pm
David, I am amazed that people will ‘nickle-and-dime’ about small fees when selling an asset for hundreds of thousands of dollars. This isn’t your 1985 Chevy Astro Van that isn’t worth a bottle of Armorall.
David, an important question here -what are your thoughts on selling before the condo fee starts to get too high? What is ‘too high’ to you? I think an inverse relationship between price & condo fee begins to develop at some point. My fee will soon rise to $699.25/mth (0.62/sf) for my unit. My unit is over 1,100 sf, has 2 (tandem) parking spots, the building has a lot of amenities, all utilities are included but this still seems high. Especially for a unit which I would price at $425-450k ($375-400/sf) -my unit is very well appointed, but in a 10 yr old building located in a less-than-ideal-but-slowly-improving location).
What are your thoughts? Sell and run, and buy a smaller, better located unit which will appreciate more and carries lower fees or stick it out (since I do really like my place)? One agent told me “don’t worry -when you want to sell in 2 yrs, there will be plenty of dual-income young couples attracted by the size and proximity to work who can afford $475k and a $775/mth condo fee if it comes to that…”
Your thoughts? Thanks!
RPG
at 3:18 pm
As a wild ballpark estimate can you speculate as to how many listings have “professional” photos? Example, how many houses/condos for lease/sale have actually hired and brought in a photographer?
XXX
at 3:47 pm
Im surprised with all the money that flows in and out of real estate amongst the various regulatory bodies, there hasnt been more emphasis on customer services such as making photos mandatory. All listings should have photos and multiple photos. The product available to consumers is poorly delivered.
Adam
at 7:09 pm
Of course, you can’t forget those awful pictures where everything is stretched. I don’t understand it, even if you don’t hire a photographer, you could get a 10 year old to take pictures that would turn out better with even the cheapest digital cameras now.
David Fleming
at 7:31 pm
@ RPG
Honestly, I would say that the figure you’re looking for is less than 1%.
If you include all LEASES, then that number is probably a quarter of one percent. I’ll be the first to admit that I won’t hire a professional photographer to list a $1,400/month condo on MLS.
But if you’re asking about all condos and houses for SALE, I can’t imagine that more than 2-3% of these listings have photos that were taken by a professional. There are hundreds and hundreds of listings with “Photo Not Available,” which takes things to a whole other level of pathetic.
David Fleming
at 7:35 pm
@ Dr. P
It depends on how you view your condo.
Is this a home or an investment?
I know – surely it’s a combination of both, but I always tell people that while you’re busy analyzing every single price metric and statistic for three years, you actually have to LIVE in the condo for those three years!
$0.62/sqft is not what I would consider “high,” but the larger issue is that buyers want NEW product. The issue of the high(er) maintenance fees is a by-product of the bigger issue – the age of the building.
I’ve written countless blog posts on how buyers want New, New, NEW, and it shows no signs of stopping. Who would have ever thought that in a city that is over 200 years old, people think that a 10-year-old condo is “old?”
The transaction costs associated with selling and moving are too high to justify doing so (real estate fees, land transfer tax, legal, moving, etc). I would reccomend sticking it out where you are now, since you are happy, and dealing with the “consequences” when it’s time to move.
Maybe other units and buildings will out-appreciate yours, but you couldn’t get into those buildings without putting out $50,000 in transaction costs.
dogbiskit
at 9:10 pm
I find it highly irritating when there is no photo available or the pics are blurry and stretched. Who do they think they are fooling with the stretch pics? David, have you ever had a client not bother to see a listing because there was no photo or the photos were bad? While we think that good photos are key to attracting buyers, maybe the lack thereof is really not as detrimental as we think.
David Fleming
at 9:59 pm
@ Dogbiskit
Absolutely.
If the property has no pictures, many times we just assume that the place is a disgusting mess. We assume this, because we would be right 90% of the time – especially with leases.
If the property has no pictures, we may not get a sense of the layout, features/finishes, and condition of the property.
If you’re going out to casually browse six properties, and the seventh one has no photos, you’ll likely just skip it…
MI Girl
at 2:26 pm
David, I can’t believe you missed my pet peeve in the kitchen photos…They couldn’t even be bothered to remove the dish towel from the oven!
Lui
at 12:37 am
biggest complaint is the stretched photos or a photo from the penthouse view but your looking at a unit on the 6th floor.