Unlike Hollywood, sex scandal is not a career launcher for politicians like Eliot Spitzer, now former New York Governor and someone who had single-handedly tanked his own career.
First of all, he is no Paris Hilton. People don’t want to link him with a sex scandal. Second of all, there is a drastic difference between his political image & persona comparing to his exposed image, unlike Paris Hilton who has at least been very consistent in her image as a party girl. So it was not a huge shock that Paris made a sex tape somewhere.
Eliot Spitzer, right, apologised to his family for “private failings” [AFP]
What does Spitzer have to do with Real Estate & Listing Photos?
Like someone in the limelight, your listing needs to present a consistent image front and back, inside and out. In a competitive market, your buyers are critical and they will be picking your listing apart. Also with the ease of internet shopping, it is very easy to overlook your listing while someone else’s looks much nicer and easier on the eye.
I see many MLS photos that present an inconsistent story that does not tell the story of the house.
Let’s look at some real MLS photos I recently pulled off the web:
It’s too dark to see anything. How big is the room, what is the purpose of this room, can you see? The room also has the “Titanic Effect” where everything is tilted to one side.
What’s the selling point of this kitchen? More importantly, where is the counter? Does this image say “I am a good seller who takes care of my house?”
Ah I get it, your listing has a floor.
What an interesting splash pattern on the floor, was there a dead body?
Am I looking at your floral arrangements or at your house?
Are you trying to sell me this house or this giant cabinet? I see I can fit, oh just about 1/3 of the bed into the room.
Are you advertising for your listings or its neighborhood vendors? Shockingly I see this very often in MLS photos where people show signs of local shops, etc. where there are less than 10 pictures of the home itself. In real estate photos, quantity does NOT equal to quality. As buyers, we want to see quality photos that represent the home well.
Are we selling the seller’s interesting collections or the house?
Now you see why photos are important? The MLS photos is a tool for you to tell the story of the house that you are selling. Leverage it well will bring you success in driving traffic to the open house and showing. We all know a photo is worth a 1,000 words, so let your pictures do the talking.
As the listing agent, you have a tremendous power and control over how you can present and market your listing in the best light. After all, presenting a listing is like presenting your single friend to the dating market — your single friend is gotta look good out there! So let’s make a pack together: us stagers will provide the nice staged home effects ready for show and you the agents will present wonderful and well-shot photographs on the MLS!
Happy selling,
Cindy
Tags: listing, MLS, photos, Real estate, Staging
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6 responses so far ↓
1 BawldGuy Talking // Mar 17, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Cindy — great stuff. I was a huge offender until last year. Athol Kay showed me the light. His photos have literally reduced the market time of homes in his area dramatically.
That’s all I had to hear.
Again, solid post cindy
2 Athol Kay // Mar 18, 2008 at 6:33 am
Shoot for positive emotion. Light, warmth, easy living. That’s about it.
If the price is near its proper market value, good photos will generate a ton of showings.
3 Jay Thompson // Mar 18, 2008 at 8:14 am
Great post Cindy, and welcome to the real estate Blogiverse! You’ve hooked up with a great one…
4 cindy*staged4more // Mar 18, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Thanks for everyone who has commented and welcome me to the 3 Ocean community, I really appreciate it!
Cheers,
Cindy*Staged4more
5 » Blog Archive What Eliot Spitzer Can Teach You About Listing Photos » staged4more.com Blog // Mar 26, 2008 at 12:42 pm
[...] (this is a guest post for 3 Ocean Real Estate Blog) [...]
6 Diane Concialdi // Mar 28, 2008 at 8:06 am
Great post Cindy! I’ll keep your points in mind when shooting my before and after rooms. It seems just common sense, but then not all of us have it.
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