Larry Field Photography | Bryan/College Station Photographer - Real Estate, Architectural and Commercial Photography

Making Your House Look it’s Best is Essential

Staging to Sell

Last week I talked about the importance of using a professional photographer to give a great first impression to buyers when they’re searching the internet for homes. This week I’m going to go over some of the things you, as a homeowner or a real estate agent, can do to get that home ready for photos and tours!

Staging is an important step when listing a home for sale, and just as important when preparing it for photographs. Potential buyers need to be able to see themselves living in the house, and properly staging it achieves this objective. Staging helps the buyer focus on the house itself rather than the personal items of the seller. Proper staging & preparation doesn’t have to cost a lot of money either!

All Rooms

Be sure all light bulbs work (and are the same color!)
Remove any pet-related items (beds, food & water dishes, toys, etc.)
If the house has pet smells, consider having the carpets steam cleaned (not a bad idea even if you don’t!)
Clean your house from top to bottom – the cost of hiring a professional is worth it!
If you have gym equipment in any rooms, and it can be moved, put it in the garage.

Kitchens

Clear clutter off counters
Remove counter-top appliances (especially if you have more than one per counter)
Remove photos, magnets and other things from the refrigerator
Hide any electrical cords, phones, etc.
Clear the sink of all dishes, wash cloths, sponges, soap dispensers
Hide any trash containers

Bedrooms

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Make all beds, tuck in sheets, remove excess pillows
Remove all clothes
Hide electrical cords, phone chargers, etc.
Clean off bedside tables, leaving only a book, lamp and maybe a clock or phone
Remove any excess furniture (rockers, cribs, etc.) to make the space look larger

Bathrooms

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Remove any toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap or other items on the sink tops
Take all bottles, soaps, wash cloths, loofas, etc. out of the shower or off the tub
Small plants, candles or decorative items can spruce up the bathroom
Put away any toys you have in or around the bathtub
Wash and fold towels neatly that hang on towel rails
Clean mirrors completely. Mirrors show streaks in bathrooms really well!
Scrub those shower walls and glass doors! A grimy door will turn people off quickly
Hide trash cans

Living Rooms

Hide all remotes, game controllers, etc.
Remove newspapers and magazines
Hide loose cables, speaker wires, charging bases, etc.
Clean and declutter any shelves
Remove everything from end tables except lamps
Put away any personal photos

Dining/Breakfast Area

Clear all tables or set with place settings
Add a center piece such as candles, flowers or other decorative items
Limit the number of chairs around the table – too many and it looks crowded
No extra chairs in the corners of the room, put a plant there instead

Exterior

Remove cars from driveway
Power wash driveways and sidewalks if necessary
Consider having the roof power washed if it’s needed
Mow lawn, have shrubs trimmed
Sweep all walkways, porches, decks
Hide trash cans
Put away any all toys, bicycles, garden hoses, sprinklers
Clean and straighten porch and patio furniture
Clean grill and remove the cover
Have pool cleaned and put away pool toys, straighten chairs
Make the front porch welcoming – new doormat, potted plants
Plant blooming flowers in front yard beds

Day of the Photo Shoot

On the day of the shoot, prior to the photographer’s arrival, make sure all curtains and blinds are open, all lights are turned on, all ceiling fans are off, close all toilet lids, lock up any pets, and turn off all televisions.

Closets/Garages

While we don’t normally photograph closets and garages, people will want to look in all of them when they tour your house. So try to declutter those as much as possible, keeping at least 30-40% of the space free so they look more roomy. If you need to rent a storage unit while your house is on the market, it would be a good investment.

Final Thoughts

Staging and decluttering your house will go a long way in helping buyers see themselves in your house, and will also let them know that the house has been taken care of!

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Is there a “Sweet Spot” for the Number of Images?

Shopping for a home today is much different than it was just a few years ago. Before the explosion of online listings of homes for sale, real estate agents would drive potential buyers from house to house, sight unseen, to walk through and find their dream home.

Today however, shopping for a home is completely different. In today’s market, those home shoppers will start by looking online, through listings, viewing photos, videos and virtual tours of potential properties, narrowing down their choices and choosing the ones they want to see in person. Because of this, listings with bad photos, or worse, none at all, will probably be passed over and never get a viewing. The question is, how many photos is the sweet spot in getting someone to contact the agent for a showing?

In this study by StreetEasy, they found that the likelihood of buyers contacting agents about a listing doubled on listings with 1 to 3 photos vs listings with no photos at all. And according to the same StreetEasy study, the percentages go up as the number of photos go up – to a point.

Can You Show Too Much?

For example, they found that if a listing has between 4 and 10 photos, there is a 5x more likelihood that the buyer will contact the agent. But for the sweet spot, they found that when a listing has 11 – 14 photos, there is a 6x better chance of the buyer contacting the agent vs a listing with no photos.

However, before you starting think more is better, just remember the old saying “less is more sometimes” and “quality over quantity”, because in that same study, they found that beyond 15 photos, the likelihood of agents being contacting starts to drop back down.

So just because your MLS has dropped the old 25 photos per listing limit, doesn’t mean you should upload all 73 of those images from that 1750 sq foot house! As a real estate agent, your first priority should be to give people just enough to make them want to actually request a showing of the house, but not give them too much so they find something they don’t like before even seeing it.

So What Do You Show?

If 15 great images of a house, showing the main features (living areas, kitchen, master bedroom, master bath, outdoor amenities, etc.) is the best way to entice someone to request a showing, why upload 30 or more? In the listing description you’ve indicated it has 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. Is there really a reason to upload a photo of that half bath? Or of any closets?

And let’s face it, most homes have some “less than desirable” features that, if seen in photos while perusing listings, will stop a buyer from ever setting foot in the house. But, once actually in the house for viewing, a potential home buyer’s list of “must-have” items drops dramatically if that house just “feels right” to them. So choosing not to focus on the less-than-optimal features in your photos just makes sense to get more showings.

Most houses can be adequately shown in 10 – 15 high quality images, shown in the order as if you walked into the front door and through those areas. Those images should be enough to generate interest and make an impression so that the buyer wants to contact the agent for a tour, which is the ultimate goal. The last thing you want is for potential buyers to tire of pouring through your endless set of images and get bored so they click on the next listing.

Post Just Enough to Make them Want to See More!

When posting your next listing’s photos, ask yourself, “is every image I’m posting needed show the features of the house, and will they encourage buyers to ask for a showing?” If you have 25 great images, then by all means post them, but sometimes less is more, and if 15 images will show the house’s best features, and pique a buyer’s interest enough to want to walk through the house, then you might think about cutting back and posting just those.

The quality of your images matter a lot more than the quantity.