Home

Photos crucial to selling homes

18.05.13

Good pictures are crucial in marketing a home for sale. Just ask Clarissa and Mark Padilla , who were able to get a contract on their Sherman Oaks condo unit in less than two weeks - and at a price they wanted.

Clarissa Padilla attributes the quick sale to the professional photography that was able to lure about 25 people to an open house the first weekend.

"When we saw the photos, we fell in love with our place all over again," she said. "The colors were so bright, and it made it look fresh and very spacious. It's only 950 square feet. (The pictures) made it look huge."

Most people who have shopped for a home lately understand the impact of quality photography in the marketing materials - especially when looking at listings online. Ninety-eight percent of home buyers who searched for a home online said that photos were among the most useful features of real estate websites, according to research from the National Association of Realtors .

And because highly visual sites such as Pinterest have become so popular, pictures are beginning to take on an even greater importance, said Brian Balduf , chairman of VHT, a photography service for agents and brokers in the Chicago area.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle